To heal a broken soul
by Cengiz
Summary: Betrayed by those they trusted. Hurt in the cruellest ways. Vengeance seemed the only way to heal their broken souls. But when Chloe and Lucifer find themselves, once again, thrown into each other's paths, they realised the prices they had to pay might have been too much. Set after 2.13. Rated M for violence, language and sexual content.
1. A glimpse of hell

**A/N:** Hello my dear readers. Finally, I can upload the first chapter of my new story. It is a 10-chapter story. I couldn't wait after the final of 2.13 to start with this one, but wanted to finish my other story T.s.t.o.s. first, therefore the delay. Anyway! I hope you'll like it. As I said, it starts after Lucifer had left, to be precise, when he comes back, but with some flashbacks in the beginning of each chapter, so you know what happened in between that time.

Speaking of flashbacks. This story is **rated M** **for violence, language and sexual content**. And if you're uncomfortable with that, or from the fainted heart sort, or get triggered very easily then don't read any further! For all others, I hope you like this little story.

This chapter was **beta-read** by Daemon. You're awesome! As always! All remaining mistakes are my own.

Enjoy!

* * *

 _A glimpse of hell_

o ~ o

 _The dull sounds of her boots on the hard floor echoed loudly through the empty penthouse when Chloe made her way over to the bedroom, taking careful steps. She'd desisted from switching on the light to not scare the darkness away which had become a calming friend to her. Exhausted and worn out, she l_ _ay_ _down on the big king size bed with the black satin bedsheets, closing her eyes as the familiar silence welcomed her back. She took a deep breath, and the ghost of Lucifer's fragrance lulled her to sleep._

 _This place had been her shelter, her safe haven, whenever the job got too stressful and she couldn't face home yet, or the people that surrounded her. She was tired, from too little sleep during the past six weeks. Back then, when she could have afforded the rest, her body declined her. On every free minute, her mind always drifted off to Lucifer, her partner, her friend, her... maybe something more, and to the day he'd left. The day he'd disappeared out of her life so suddenly, right after he saved her, leaving her behind with nothing but confusion, worry, and sorrow. In her mind, she tried to picture him somewhere happy, safe and sound, having found what he might have been looking for. But each time it hurt inside_ _of_ _her heart a little more; it hurt so badly, that sometimes she could barely breathe when she cried herself to sleep. Why did he have to leave without an explanation? Without even saying goodbye? She wanted to hate him for what he'd done to her, but she couldn't. The longing for him overpowered every other feeling, and the hope she carried deep within her, that one day he would come back to her._

 _But lately, it was a different reason her body denied her to rest. There had been two victims, found at an interval of two weeks. Both had been raped, beaten, and left behind to die on their own. The first woman did survive for a couple of days, hanging onto dear life while she was lying in a coma. But the damage to her brain was too deep, and eventually, the doctors decided to take her off the machines. The procedure the murderer had used was the same on both victims; they had been disfigured, marked as if they were nothing but a piece of meat. Everything pointed in the direction that th_ _ose_ _were the doings of a serial killer, and if this truly was the case, then they were running out of time. Two weeks had passed since the last murder, and that meant soon another person could become a victim. She couldn't afford to rest now. She couldn't afford to even close her eyes for just an hour. But she felt the fatigue in her bones. She needed to catch some sleep to be able to continue work with the same quality she expected from herself, the same quality everyone expected from her._

 _That's why she came up here. Because only within these walls, when she was snuggled into the cosy bed sheets, with his scent lingering all over them, she was able to fall asleep. Only here she could pretend that Lucifer wasn't gone, but had just left the room; that her partner was still there to help her fight evil._

 _Today she hadn't even bothered to wrap the blanket around herself. She only held_ _fast_ _onto the pillow that had become the lifeless version of him, and snuggled deeper into the soft material, breathing in his scent once again before she completely drifted off._

 _When the bed began moving around her, she woke up again. It was difficult to use her senses as her mind was still trapped between dream and reality, and her limbs didn't obey her will yet. She felt someone slowly approaching her, and she smiled to herself, thinking – hoping – that it was Lucifer who had finally come back to her. The lids over her eyes were still too heavy to be lifted, but her body got lighter, and she turned herself onto her back, moving her head in the direction she assumed his face to be. "Lucifer?" she softly called for him. But there was no reply. Only a low chuckle accompanied hands that pressed down into the mattress on both sides of her, and something heavy moved across her and pinned her down._

 _In that moment, all her inner alarms went off. Her eyes sprang open and she startled at the sight of the stranger who looked back at her with a wide, frightening grin that instantly sent a shiver down her spine. "Who are you?" she voiced, appalled, and tried to get up, to get away from him, but his hands quickly grabbed her and held her back. "You are my dream come true!" the man cajoled, and Chloe lifted her legs to ram them into him, using everything possible to get him off of her. He dodged her moves with ease, hitting her across the face with his fist in reply, while his other hand pressed down onto her ribcage, making it almost impossible for her to expand her lungs. With the last breath inside of her, fuelled by the mixture of fear and anger she repeated, screaming, "Who are you?" This time, his dark voice answered back, "I am your biggest nightmare!" His free hand went around her throat, and the more she tried to get free, the more he choked her. Still, she wouldn't give up, she would die fighting! She scratched across his face, punched him, kicked him, but it seemed as if her blows didn't do anything to his body. He dodged away from her, counter-striking her attempts with even more forceful hits. "Get off me!" Chloe croaked, and slowly desperation won over. She felt blood coming out of her nose, her left eye had already swollen that much that she couldn't see properly any longer, she tasted iron on her tongue from where her lip had split open, and she could hear how one of her ribs cracked before the pain numbed her senses. Without slowing down, he kept on beating her. She was dodging his blows and striking back as much as possible, but his beating drove her to exhaustion. With no strength left to keep her hands up, she collapsed down_ _on_ _the pillow, his piercing eyes and his sickening grin were the last things she saw before her lids shut close as well. Was this her time to die?_

 _The expected final hit didn't come. She was about to gain new hope when she suddenly heard it: The distinct sound of metal clapping against metal, and a zip being pulled down. And it dawned on her who it was she'd found herself with. "No!" she uttered, her lungs too empty to properly voice her words. She took further breaths, as much as she could through the tight grip of his hand on her throat, and she shouted out, "No!" Her hands, fuelled by the new adrenaline rush, tried to force him back, tried to keep him from coming closer, but all her efforts were futile. "Nooo!" she cried out her last word before his hand covered her mouth and muffled further screams._

o ~ o

Chloe was exhausted, to say the least. Simply exhausted. There hadn't even been anything spectacular at the precinct. No reports of murders had come in for the last couple of days; not that she would have been allowed to work on them, but at least she could sneak a peek into her colleagues' files. She knew they didn't really like interference from outside, but since _that night_ she kind of had a special status. Not in the sense that everyone was still walking on eggshells around her – she hated that part to no end – but her colleagues came to her for advice when they had run into a dead end, to have a fresh pair of eyes looking at their cases, or simply get a third opinion. And she was eager to help. It distracted her, gave her back some sort of normality. Some colleagues even made an effort to have real conversations with her, something she only had dreamed of back then, when the Palmetto case was still fresh. And for her the most probably best part was, whenever she got into one of her moods, everyone was just giving her space so she could calm down again, without the looks, without the snide remarks. In short, the precinct was really a workplace one, who had experienced such a... nightmare would have dreamed of.

Still, this all caused a huge amount of stress to her. Sometimes it got so extreme that people in her surroundings couldn't even take a low breath without her to freak out innerly. Then she needed a long walk around the block to calm herself down again. But during the last couple of days, her body seemed to be unable to relax. She found herself in a constant state of tension as soon as she left the house. And the smallest things like smells or sounds sent fireworks through her brain and everything came rushing back into her mind like a tidal wave. Even Linda recommended to her to take a couple of days off, relax somewhere, just her and her daughter. But instead, she went to her boss, asking to increase the four-hour-shift she'd done the two weeks before by two hours, hoping this would help her to get her mind off of these things.

It was supposed to get easier by the time, but lately, it seemed that everything went worse. Especially today had been rough. She'd worked her shift rather poorly, had only done the necessary things with the double amount of time spent on breaks. And still, when she came home, she was so stressed up, that not even the long, hot bath could ease her up fully. At least she'd calmed down that much that she could enjoy the book she was currently reading, sitting on the couch, snuggled up in her blanket.

So when suddenly the doorbell had rung, she was anything but delighted to be forced to leave her self-made hideaway. For a moment, she thought about simply ignoring it, but then again, she feared the person outside would ring the bell again and eventually wake up Trixie. Therefore she walked over to the door, with a rather grumpy announced "coming!" to make clear that there was no further need for audible disruption. With the two last sentences from her book still in mind, she opened the door.

"Hello, my dear," Lucifer greeted her with an extra toothy smile and sparkling eyes, taking a small step closer.

Chloe froze. Her eyes got so big that only her visual nerves seemed to prevent them from falling out of their sockets. Shocked, startled and simply out of reflex, she threw the door back close again, missing his face by a mere inch. ' _Am I hallucinating?_ ' it went through her head and her heart pounded loudly in her ears while further thoughts came rushing in. Had she fallen asleep on the couch and was just dreaming about him? Or was it really him who stood there, out of the blue, after all those weeks?

"Come on!" she heard his slightly miffed sounding voice from the other side of the door. "You can't be mad at me that much."

' _Not that much?_ ' it echoed through her mind. Did he really just had the gall to tell her how mad she should feel about him leaving her so suddenly, vanishing without a trace? Chloe felt rage inside of her boiling up. Something she normally had hated whenever it happened during the past couple of weeks, but right now, that emotion came more than in handy. "Go away!" she yelled loudly through the door, releasing a bit of that anger. "I'm done with you!" she added in a normal tone but not any less angry. She turned around and walked back to her couch, while her inner self did a little victory dance at her fortitude. All those weeks after he'd disappeared, she had wished for him to come back to her, had imagined how he would suddenly stand in front of her and she would jump into his arms, holding tight and telling him how much she'd missed him. But this time was long gone. She wasn't a princess in a fairy tale, waiting for the prince to come and rescue her. No! She'd rescued herself. She'd cut off the dragon's head and had stood her ground. He had no right to come back now! And smile at her with those lips! she silently added.

"Who was it, mummy?" Trixie's sleepy voice suddenly piped up from her open bedroom door, and the little girl stepped out into the living area, making a bee-line to her mother.

"No one!" Chloe snapped and got startled by herself. She quickly kneeled down, cupping her daughter's face and kissing her dearly on the cheek. "Sorry," she mumbled against the soft skin only a child could have and repeated her words with more gentleness, "No one important, monkey. Go back to bed." She stood back up, waiting until her daughter made her way over to her room again before she jogged up the stairs to her own bedroom. If she didn't want to lose it right here, she needed to get a grip on herself. Fast!

Lucifer still stood outside, perplexed about her behaviour. "Chloe!" he shouted through the door, impatiently knocking against the wood with his closed hand.

Before Trixie even had the handle of her bedroom door in her hand, she heard his call and quickly turned around, heading back to the front door. "Lucifer?" she questioned cautiously, wondering if she really had heard correctly. "Yes, small human, it's me! Can you open the door?" Came it promptly from outside, and Trixie quickly turned the handle. "Lucifer!" she shouted out with joy and beamed all over her face. She was about to lunge forward and hug him as tightly as her small arms would allow, when suddenly her mother's frantic voice yelled from upstairs, "No, Trixie! Don't let him in." Trixie pursed her upper lip to a thin line, slightly pouting her lower lip in disappointment. "Sorry, I'm not allowed to let you in," she apologised to her friend.

"I've heard that, child," Lucifer replied to her, visibly irritated, and questioned cluelessly, his voice a tad higher than usual, "What's up with your mother?"

Trixie stared at him as if he had two heads. She was about to answer him when she suddenly felt her mother's arms on her shoulders, which gently shoved her to the side.

"Come on, babe. Go back to sleep, please," Chloe ordered her softly and watched her daughter walking back to her room and disappearing behind the door. Then her head quickly wheeled back around and she glared at him with fierce eyes, spitting, "What?"

"Oh," he mumbled, bewildered about her rage, and tilted his head to the side. "Not quite the nicest way of yours to welcome an old friend back," he remarked snidely and hid his wonderment under a smug grin.

"Well, _Lucifer_ ," she sizzled his name like a snake, and reproached him angrily, "Old friends don't just disappear without notification and then, all of a sudden, come back after 13 weeks and act as if nothing has happened."

"But Chloe," he started in a wailing tone but was instantly cut off.

"It's Detective Decker for you!" Chloe scolded and glared at him with her sea blue eyes that appeared almost black by the dim light from outside.

He was taken aback. "Very well, _Detective_ ," he corrected himself, emphasising her name. "I've just arrived today. I thought we could talk," he suggested in a nonchalant tone.

"No!" Chloe shook her head and almost chuckled scornfully at his comment. "You didn't want to talk to me back then. You simply decided to go. So, stay gone!" she huffed and gripped tighter around the door handle to keep herself from leaping forward and throwing her fists against him.

Lucifer rolled his eyes and sighed. But he silently admitted that she did have a point. "Can I explain myself then?" he questioned calmly, sending her a hopeful look.

"Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it!" Chloe replied sternly and shook her head again. "And I'm not saying this again: Leave. Me. Alone!" she emphasised each word and without further warning, stepped back from the door and, once more, threw it into his face. She quickly locked the door so he wouldn't be able to get inside, and only then she noticed how strongly her hands were actually shaking. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, but the emotions inside her had already started their roller-coaster and were about to break through the surface. She didn't want to break down. Not here in the middle of the living room, possibly startling her daughter, and definitely not now, after what had just happened. As quickly as she could, she ran back up the stairs, one hand at her eyes to keep the tears from falling.

Lucifer was thunderstruck. It took him a moment to realise that the white wooden door had been long closed and that Chloe wasn't coming back to open it again. ' _What's wrong with her?_ ' he silently asked himself and narrowed his eyes in worry. Turning around, he walked back to his car, his footsteps slow from his heart that weighed him down.

"Lucifer, wait!" Trixie's anxious voice called out as she closed the garden door and came running towards him. She'd sneaked out of the back door after her mother went upstairs, determined to stop him from leaving again. Even if she was only nine years old, she knew she could make a difference. She'd learned it in school, about the little boy David who fought down the giant Goliath. Although neither her mother nor Lucifer were giants or evil, they needed help. They needed each other. And even if they couldn't see it, she could, and she was resolute to help.

Lucifer stopped in his track and turned around, the faint smile he sent her did merely lift his cheeks. "What is it, small human?" he questioned, providing her with enough time to catch her breath.

Trixie wrapped her arms around his legs, holding tight onto the fabric as she looked up at him, pleading with big puppy dog eyes, "Please don't go! She didn't mean what she said," she apologised for her mother's action and explained to him, "It's just, she's hurt. That's all. She's so badly hurt, she sometimes gets angry without meaning it." Her lower lip pouted and she snuggled her chin into his legs, pleading him once more, "Please stay."

His sad face lifted a bit, and he sighed, exhaling the sorrow. With an appreciating pat on her head, he told her softly, "You better go back inside." He pointed towards the direction but kept his sight fixed on the little girl in front of him.

"Promise me you stay?" Trixie asked beseechingly, and her eyes filled with hope.

Before he was even able to form an answer, his thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a loud outcry.

"Trixie?" Chloe shouted, appalled, and ran out of the garden, heading for them as fast as her bare feet carried her. When she reached her daughter, she squatted down, pulling her away from Lucifer and wrapping her in a tight hug. "Don't run away from me like that!" she scolded her as gently as worried she was and kissed her on her head in relief. Straightening herself back up, she secured the grip around Trixie and sent a brief glance towards Lucifer. Without further words in his direction, she turned around and walked back, holding her daughter tight.

"You scared the life out of me, monkey." Lucifer heard her mumbling to her child and watched them disappear into the garden again before he as well turned around and continued his walk. While his feet led him back to his car, his mind was filled with the look of Chloe's eyes. They weren't angry or hate-filled like he would have expected after her behaviour from at the door. All her eyes revealed was a huge sadness and little sparkling teardrops at their corners. He sighed again. He had imagined their reunion differently, a lot better, to be precise. Whenever he'd thought about it, his mind painted it with many smiles, nice words and hugs, sometimes even a kiss. If he was honest with himself, he could have even handled it if she was simply angry at him. After all, he did leave her without saying goodbye. But what he couldn't handle at all was to see this sadness in her eyes. As if she was broken... and he was the cause.

/-/

Chloe came rushing down the stairs, taking two at a time, and almost tripped over her feet as she hurried to her desk. Out of the corners of her eyes, she saw Dan approaching her and interrupted him before he even had the chance to speak up. "I know, I'm late," she excused herself and quickly put her keys and phone onto her desk.

"Where have you been?" asked Dan, not hiding his concern. "I tried reaching you all morning."

"Had a late visit that kept me up all night," she explained swiftly while stripping out of her jacket. After hanging it over her chair, she turned around, facing her ex, and got sight of his bewildered look. "Not what you think!" she countered, her eyes narrowed in a reproachful way, and added wearily, "I just couldn't find sleep, that's all."

Dan nodded understandingly and went on in a hushed tone, "I tried covering for you all morning. Ella also helped, but I think the Lieutenant knows."

Chloe sighed, silently cringing at that piece of information. Coming late would definitely not help her get back her full job. "I know. Thanks, Dan," she appreciated his efforts and caringly stroke across his upper arm.

As if on cue, the door to the boss's office sprang open and Monroe peeked out of it, loudly calling for her two Detectives, "Decker! Espinoza!"

"Shit," Chloe cursed under her breath and instinctively duck her head. She glanced up at Dan, who apologetically shrugged his shoulders at her, and took a deep breath, calling herself to order. With her head held high and Dan on her heels, she made a bee-line to her boss. When both were inside the office, and Dan had closed the door, she blurted out, "I know, Lieutenant. I was late. I'm tremendously sorry. It won't happen again."

Monroe silenced her with a wave of her hand. "I didn't call you inside for being late," she informed her, deadpanned.

Chloe pricked her ears and stared at her superior. "OK," she stated warily, her eyebrows raised in surprise and curiosity.

"They found a dead body inside an abandoned church," Monroe went on without missing a beat. "The forensics aren't hundred percent sure, but it might be murder." After a pause to let the information sink in, she attentively looked at Chloe and offered, "The case is yours if you want it."

"Yes! So very much yes," Chloe eagerly affirmed, her eyes shining brightly. She innerly did a somersault. Considering how it had started, this day couldn't get any better. Her first case since she'd been back in the precinct, three weeks ago. And this meant one step further into getting her life back!

Monroe looked at her Detective with a wary eye. It was true, Decker was one of her best Detectives, and she'd shown remarkable strength and willpower since the attack; to put this whole rape and attempted murder so seemingly easily behind herself and come back to work after just four weeks of recovery was something Monroe wouldn't think she herself would be capable of. She didn't know many people who had such a strong will to survive. It seemed that this Detective could accomplish anything she wanted. But she couldn't quite get rid of that feeling inside of her that it was too soon. That some day, when everyone was least expecting it, this whole load would come crashing down on her employee. And she wasn't a good Lieutenant if she would let that happen. She couldn't look into the future, and she definitely couldn't wrap her Detective in cotton wool. So only time could tell if or when this worst-case scenario would happen. She, as the superior of the precinct, could only take certain precautions: Like calling Decker's psychiatrist, for instance, and talk that step over with her. And Dr Linda had approved of it, albeit only under tight monitoring. "Look, I know it's been difficult for you over the past weeks-," she started but was quickly cut off.

"I can handle it!" Chloe ensured her boss. "I promise, Lieutenant."

Monroe raised her finger to keep her Detective from interrupting her again. "I wouldn't have offered you the case if I had thought differently," she assured her objectively. "Still, your doctor hasn't cleared you for field work yet, and therefore I'll give you Detective Espinoza for support. He will officially lead the case, but unofficially it's yours." Her sight wandered over to Dan, who nodded his understanding. Turning her attention back to the woman in front of her, she added with a cautious reminder, "If anything goes out of hand, if you feel uncomfortable with something, overwhelmed, or anything, then please tell me."

Chloe nodded vehemently. She knew exactly what was on the line, not only her own job, also Dan and her boss would put theirs in jeopardy if she would mess up. And she didn't intend on risking that. "Thank you, Lieutenant. I really appreciate your trust."

Monroe acknowledged her with a firm nod. "Alright. I'll let everything pass on to you. The body has already been sent to the pathology," she informed her further.

"I'll take over from here, Lieutenant," Chloe reaffirmed her once again.

Monroe nodded again and dismissed her with a wave of her hand. Before Dan could leave the room as well, she beckoned him over to her. "Keep a close eye on her!" she ordered when he was within earshot.

Dan nodded assuringly. "Always!" he promised sincerely and left the office.

/-/

Chloe and Dan stood in the middle of the deserted church. Long plastic layers were hanging from the ceiling, covering some of the windows, some others were boarded up, and the largest one right behind the altar was even missing. The pews were shoved towards the backside of this rather large room, the front rows of them were broken down, either by the course of time or wilfully. Some of the equipment was lying on the ground as if they'd just been pushed over by a huge fight that had been taken out inside this building if it wasn't for the big layer of dust and dirt on top of everything, that rather indicated that this church had been abandoned for months, maybe even years.

Chloe looked around, the paint was crumbling off the walls, some even had big holes. But apart from the white drawn outlines of the body right underneath the gallery, no one would have assumed that a dead person had been found here. She stepped closer to the edging and looked up. It really did fit. Half of the railing on the gallery was broken and lying on the ground. Everything hinted towards a tragic accident.

She sighed. This wasn't the way she'd depicted her first case in her head.

"It really seems like it was just an accident," Dan called down to her from the gallery, keeping himself from leaning against the railing nearby to not fall himself.

Chloe looked up, sceptically. "I don't believe the drop height could cause a broken neck."

"If he'd landed unfavourably?" suggested Dan with a shrug of his shoulders.

"We'll see," she replied, rather to herself than to her ex. She turned around and walked over to the area near the altar that currently wasn't occupied by the forensics team. Something had caught her eye when she stood in the middle of the church, but she'd wanted to inspect the alleged site of crime first before she would turn her attention to this part of the building. She came to a halt in front of the little organ on the left side and crouched down. The spot that had stood out to her had a different colour than the grey stone floor: It was dark brownish, and with a little fantasy, one could think of it as a puddle of blood. Snapping her fingers, she called one of the forensic science technicians over. "Did you already take a sample of this here?" she questioned calmly when the man was within earshot.

"No," he denied, shaking his head. "It's on the complete opposite side of where the body was found. And this looks too old to be related to our case. If it's even one," he added with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"Take some samples nevertheless, please," she ordered him in a friendly manner. Her guts told her that this might be of importance, maybe even the reason why the man had been found here in this abandoned church in the first place. She nodded thankfully at the technician and stood up, walking back to Dan, who waited for her near the exit.

"Sorry, Chloe, I don't see a case for you here," Dan apologised when they stepped out of the church. "Maybe he was inside the church for shelter and fell off the gallery."

Half her mind was already at full speed, processing the scene and evidence, and Chloe shook her head. "There would be no reason for this man to have gone up onto the gallery. It was too small and too dirty to lie down. The pews would have been more suitable if he wanted to sleep inside. The only reason I see at the moment is that he stood there to observe something... or someone." She turned around, going along the walkway.

"There are no surveillance cameras inside or around the church, so we will never know," Dan mentioned absent-mindedly and followed his former wife.

"Not quite," Chloe disagreed and a light smile settled down on her lips when she stared at the street camera above them. "From the angle, it could be possible that they've also recorded the church's entry." She quickly took out her mobile and called the particular authorities, asking for the footage, before she made some further notes in her notebook and then walked back to her car, getting inside to head over to the pathology.

/-/

"Hey, any new information on the dead in the church?" questioned Dan the forensic pathologist when he and Chloe walked into the room. The body was lying on a table in the middle, already cut open, and he quickly took a step backwards, to not let the remains of his sandwich rise up his throat again.

The pathologist nodded confidently and beckoned both over before he began with stating the facts he'd gathered so far from the autopsy. "The cause of death was a break of the neck by almost 180°," he announced soberly. "The head was literally turned around," he rephrased with an impressed smile and went on, his hands pointing at the respective body parts, "He'd landed on the back of his head, with the front of his body on the ground as well. There are burst blood vessels in the outer layer of the back of the skull that reconfirms he'd actually fallen down."

"So it might be an accident?" Chloe interrupted him.

The man shook his head, contradicting, "There has to be a huge force on the neck to break at such an angle. A simple fall wouldn't be enough." He raised his hands in front of his body and stated, "Someone broke this man's neck! Since there were no other indications, like bruises on the neck as they would normally occur when someone put their hands or arms there, I searched for fingerprints across the whole upper body part." He looked at Chloe, reconfirming himself that she was following his words before he turned his attention back to the corpse. "The only prints I've found were on his chin: two fingers, one on each side. I've already sent them over to the precinct," he added, and summarised, "I highly doubt that anyone has enough strength to break someone's neck by just grabbing their chin and turning their head around, but this man here definitely didn't die accidentally."

Chloe nodded at the pathologist, signalling him that she had fully understood everything. She was glad that her instincts hadn't played her a trick, and that this man had indeed been murdered. She looked over at Dan, asking him, "Can you tell Ella to take care of the fingerprints?" Dan nodded, taking out his phone to instantly text Ella the information. Turning her attention back to the pathologist, she questioned interestedly, "When exactly did this man die?"

"Between four and five in the afternoon of the previous day," he answered right away.

She scribbled it down into her notebook, thanked the examiner, and left the pathology with Dan in tow, heading back to the precinct.

/-/

"Hey guys, the surveillance footage from the street in front of the church that you've ordered has already arrived," Ella informed them when they entered the precinct. "I've already spoken to Ravi about your case," she started but was interrupted by Dan.

"Who's Ravi?" he questioned cluelessly.

"The medical examiner who performed the autopsy on your dead man from the church," she quickly explained and leant a bit into Chloe and Dan to keep her voice low when she questioned curiously, "So it's a murder then, huh?"

"Everything points into that direction," Chloe answered her sparsely. "Did you get a match on the fingerprints yet?" she wanted to know.

Ella wrinkled her nose and sceptically shook her head. "Not that easy, guys. The prints were neither full nor clear. I have to do some magic on them before I can match them with our databases. But I promise, I'll do my best," she ended, smiled and gave them a thumbs-up.

"Thanks!" replied Chloe, glad that Ella would take care of it while she and Dan were checking the footage.

They went into the technical room and took seats in front of the monitor. Knowing the approximate time of death now, Dan selected the tape of the previous day and fast-forwarded to the afternoon before hitting fast-mode-play. The angle of the camera was set optimally and clearly showed the entrance of the church. It didn't take long and both watched a very familiar figure exiting the run-down building.

"Is that... Lucifer?" questioned Dan, flabbergasted. He hastily stopped the footage, rewound back to before he came out of the church, hit play again, this time at normal speed, and leant forward to have a better look. Indeed. His eyes didn't play him a trick, he thought at the reconfirmation. This was Lucifer Morningstar exiting the church. Dan glanced over to Chloe, surprised that he hadn't heard any comment from her so far. When he saw her straight face and her half-squeezed eyes looking at the monitor, he questioned baffled, "Wait! Did you know he's back?"

Chloe shrugged her shoulders. It bugged her that out of all people, Lucifer had to cross her path in her first case. "It was him who showed up on my doorsteps last night," she muttered and took a deep breath, exhaling the frustration about the man who entered her life twice in such quick successions.

"And you wanted to tell me that exactly when?" Dan scolded her. He was upset that she'd kept that piece of information from him. When Chloe silently sent him her ' _don't give me that_ '-look, he went berserk. "Chloe, this man left you without saying goodbye! And after all this time he suddenly comes back, right at your doorsteps, and you don't think it's necessary to tell me this?"

"We're not married anymore, Dan," she countered without a wince.

"I know that!" he retorted and paused to get his anger back under control. With a calmed-down voice, he went on, "I just thought we're still friends."

Chloe stared at him, shaking her head in silence and sparing a reply. Whenever he was at his wit's end, he used that to get under her skin. But not this time! She didn't owe him anything. And who she'd talked to or who'd visited her, was no one's business but hers.

Dan shirked from her glare and turned back to the footage with a low sigh. He knew it was useless to press further on that when she was in this state. Hoping he could get them both back into work-mode, he calmly suggested, "I'll get him into the precinct. He might know something."

Chloe shook her head, contradicting him. "Just look at the timestamp. Lucifer exited that church at three in the afternoon. The medical examiner said that the victim's time of death was between four and five."

"So?" he asked her, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe he came back. Maybe he's even the killer."

"Lucifer is not a killer!" she denied right away, and her tone made very clear that she was serious. "He would never do such a thing!" she defended him further. She knew him. He might be selfish, arrogant and childish, but there were two things she was dead-certain about him: He never lied, and he never killed.

"Maybe he has changed," Dan calmly interrupted her thoughts and stared at her intensely.

Chloe saw the light rebuke in his eyes and knew that those words were meant for her. _She_ had changed; a lot since... that night. And she didn't know what Lucifer had been through during those weeks of absence. Still... She shook her head again. "You stay here. I'll go and talk to him."

"He's a suspect!" Dan reminded her without any emotion in his tone.

"No, he's not!" she countered decisively, and turned around, adding as she went for the exit, "He's a witness, at most. I'll talk to him."

Before she was out of the door, Dan called after her in a warning tone, "Don't let this man cloud your judgement, Chloe!"

Chloe stopped and turned back, scowling at him. "Whatever you mean!" she riposted and darted off.

/-/

The talk with Dan still vividly in her mind, Chloe drove straight to LUX. She hadn't set a foot into this building for the past seven weeks, but where else would he be, if not in his penthouse. She had no other choice than to go up there and find out on her own. Nodding reassuringly to herself, she entered LUX, went directly to the elevator and pushed the button. It didn't take long for the lift to arrive with a ping, but she already felt her hands tremble. Ignoring the beginnings of her fear, she stepped inside and pressed the penthouse button like she had done so many times before. This time it felt strange, frightening even. Automatically, her hand went to her holster and grabbed the hard plastic of her gun to reconfirm that it was still there; that it hadn't been taken without her noticing.

The ping resounded again, announcing that she'd reached the floor, and for a moment her thoughts went wild. How did it look now? She quickly reminded herself that after the forensics, Maze had gone up here to clean everything, to let the evidence of this crime done to her disappear. If only her memories could be wiped out that easily as well. She sighed, composed herself, and with a steady foot, she walked out of the elevator and into the entrance area. "Lucifer!" she called out and listened attentively. She startled as suddenly a woman showed up in front of her, looking down at her from a height that wasn't only achieved by the high heels she was wearing.

"Who are you?" the woman questioned warily, with an almost hostile undertone.

Chloe quickly pushed the fear and the distressing feelings to the back of her mind and put on her stern police mask. "Detective Decker, LAPD," she introduced herself, straight-faced, and retorted, "Who are you?"

The woman's dark features quickly turned into a friendly smile and she commented with a delighted voice, "A police officer, how nice." She visibly relaxed and stretched out her arm in greeting, introducing herself, "I'm Candy, Candy Morningstar."

"Morningstar?" That she managed to repeat the name without stumbling over the letters was a mystery to herself, and Chloe stared at the woman in disbelief before she narrowed her eyes and searched for any familiar features in the other one's face; because any other possibility than being a sibling or cousin was simply... impossible.

"Yes!" Candy answered the question with a wide smile, bringing Chloe out of her gaze.

"You're... related to Lucifer?" she questioned and for a moment her heart stopped beating as she imploringly awaited the answer.

"Luci?" Candy called out in a sing-song voice, making Chloe innerly cringe at that nickname, and added proudly, "He's my husband."

The word cut through Chloe's chest like a razor-sharp knife. And while her heart was slowly bleeding out, she forced herself back to order, taking a low, controlled breath, and hiding her true emotions behind a stern expression. She was about to question where said... _husband_... was, as suddenly clear steps resounded from the dressing room and made her turn her head.

"Chloe!" Lucifer jovially called her name and quickly walked over to her, closing the cuffs on his sleeves, while his half buttoned-up shirt presented a direct view of his chest. "What a surprise to see you," he greeted her and smiled all over his face.

Chloe swallowed the lump in her throat and sent several prayers heavenwards to let her voice come out steadily, to not give him the recognition that this moment had been a glimpse of hell for her. "It's Detective Decker for you!" she dryly reminded him, her narrowed eyes fixed on an invisible spot in the room while she waited for him to come closer.

"Detective," Lucifer repeated with a sad sigh. He didn't like it that she still insisted on that title. After all, they were way beyond that. At least before he'd left L.A. it felt as if they had taken that one step further towards a more intimate relationship. Even her messages she'd left him on his voice mail pointed in that direction. He didn't want to take that step back. He didn't want to have only a professional relationship with her again. He didn't want to give up on her, to give up on what they could have had. He wasn't ready for that! "Well, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he quickly broached the subject, hoping their conversation could keep him away from the distressing thoughts in his head.

She wanted to leave. She wanted to scream at him, turn around and flee that place as fast as possible, but she was a Detective. And she was right in the middle of a case. And he was a witness. She had no other choice than to endure this moment, with him standing so close to her, and his... Chloe couldn't bring the word over her lips, not even in her mind. Clearing her throat and, once more, pushing the emotions back down, she quickly replied, "You need to answer some questions."

No, he didn't! Lucifer thought, determined. Right now, talking to her about why he'd left her was the last thing he wanted to do. "Well, this has to wait, I'm afraid," he declined in a friendly tone and buttoned up his shirt completely. "I'm about to go out for lunch with my wife, Candy." Hiding his uneasiness behind a smug grin, he enquired, "Did she already introduce herself?"

"Yes, she did!" Chloe answered and huffed. Narrowing her eyes, she briefly glanced over to Candy, before her attention went right back to Lucifer. "And, no, this cannot wait!" she contradicted decidedly. "You're answering me now, or I'll bring you down to the precinct," she stated and took a step towards him, to make clear that she was serious. If he wouldn't come with her voluntarily, she would drag him out of here in handcuffs. Chloe's attempt to appear intimidating was rudely interrupted when suddenly Candy stepped in front of her, blocking her way.

"You've heard my husband! Come back later," Candy countered with a warning glare. She didn't like that woman! Hearing that name from Lucifer, together with his behaviour, made very clear that this woman was the Chloe from his phone. And Candy couldn't stand that thought. She was barely able to keep down her anger when she had to share her precious husband with that voice back then in Las Vegas. But to have her here now, in person... She pretty much preferred that this Chloe had remained artificial like that Siri. She grabbed Chloe by the shoulder and pushed her a step backwards. When Chloe immediately slapped her hand off and squinted her eyes at her, Candy directly mimicked the gesture and glared back.

Without stopping in his task of pouring himself a drink, Lucifer addressed his wife, cautioning her, "Candy!" Out of the corners of his eyes, he saw her turning her head back to him, slightly nodding her understanding and taking a step back. "Look, if it's about yesterday-" he started and turned his head, his eyes fully on Chloe, but not missing the surprised look on his wife's face about that unknown piece of information.

"No!" Chloe quickly cut him off. Getting reminded of last night was the last thing she wanted right now. "It's about a murder," she quickly informed him. "And you need to answer some questions. You might have seen something."

"Oh!" he exclaimed, surprised, and instantly got delighted. "Well, under those circumstances, I'm eager to help you out, _Detective_ ," he purred and quickly poured another glass. Taking both into his hands, he pointed towards his couch. "Come on, then," he invited her over and held one glass towards her. "You want a drink?"

Chloe folded her arms, tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, annoyed. "No, thanks!" she declined, not hiding her vexed mood. He knew damn well she would never take a drink while on duty, so what was it with this demeanour of his; not to mention that the daggers this woman named Candy shot at her when she thought she wasn't looking didn't really make the situation any more comfortable. "I'll question you at the precinct," Chloe announced and walked back to the elevator, quickly pressing the button. The doors slid open right away, and she hastily stepped inside, adding before the doors closed shut, "I'll meet you there, asap."

"Wait, Chloe!" Lucifer called after her, jumping a step forward in the attempt to stop her, but it was too late, the doors had already closed and he heard the familiar sound of the lift moving down. He groaned in frustration and looked with narrowed eyes at the closed doors, before taking a sip of his drink to soothe his nerves. Stepping back, he placed the untouched glass back onto the counter.

Candy shrugged her shoulders and grinned superciliously. She stepped towards him, grabbed the glass and took a sip, mumbling when she lowered it back down, "I don't like her." She had barely ended the sentence, when suddenly Lucifer's tight grip was around her neck and he pushed her back against the wall. Frightened, she dropped the glass and it shattered on the floor. "Luci!" she yelped, but his dark, glaring eyes quickly silenced her.

"You touch her one more time," Lucifer warned her in a threatening tone, "and I'll end you!" He tightened his grip on her throat once more and questioned dangerously calm, "Is that understood?"

She hastily nodded her understanding. "Yes, Lucifer!" she croaked, confirming him. When he let go of her again, she gasped for air, grasping at her neck and rubbing away the pain. She watched him place his own drink onto the counter, walking over to the couch and grabbing his jacket, and asked, perplexed, "Where are you going?"

Lucifer looked up and smiled at her as if nothing had just happened while he put on his jacket. "Duty calls," he informed her nonchalantly, walking back to her. "You'll have to go out for lunch yourself, my dear. I'll see you later." He pecked her on the cheek, and stepped forward to the elevator, pressing the button. When the doors slid open, he went inside, not bothering to turn back to her.

* * *

 **A/N:** That was the first chapter! I hope you liked it. Please let me know how you feel. And for those who like to have a little more specific question: What was your most favourite part? And what was your least favourite part?

Have a nice day!

:o)


	2. A different person

**A/N:** Hello my dear readers. Thank you all so very much for your lovely reviews and that you favourited and/or followed this story. I feel very flattered by all of this.

For those of you who might wonder to which memories Lucifer is referring to in his flashback, I wrote this little story a while ago. It's called "Vulnerable", and it's chapter 3 in my one-shot series "Between Trust and Confession".

This chapter was **beta-read** by Daemon. All remaining mistakes are my own.

Enjoy!

* * *

 _A different person_

o ~ o

 _The sun was shining brightly when Lucifer stepped out of the plane, blinding him for a moment. He quickly used his hand as a sun shield and squinted his eyes until they adapted to the light. Behind him, Candy was at the door and he half turned to her, offering her his hand._

 _"This is absolutely breathtaking!" Candy exclaimed in awe when she saw the view across part of the city. Grinning at him, she encompassed his fingers and let him guide her to the stairs._

 _Lucifer smirked back at her. His heart was light again. And that wasn't because of the marvellous weather or because it was only two weeks till he would have his ultimate vengeance. No, it rather had something to do with the fact that he was back again, closer to where his heart belonged. With a_ _s_ _light nod of his head to the side, he gestured his wife to keep pace and together they walked down the stairs, across the concrete of the large airport and into the arrivals hall._

 _Candy was leaning into him and, when the other passengers were out of range, she whispered into his ear, "Can we do that again? I really liked what you did up there in this little toilet cubicle." She fluttered her eyelashes when he turned his head, hoping this minor seduction tactic would do the trick to get him aroused again._

 _"Maybe," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders and a smirk on his lips. "After you've served your purpose, of course," he reminded her once again, and Candy nodded duteously. With his wife in tow, he walked straight to the man who held up a sign with his name on it. "Lucifer Morningstar," he introduced himself and promptly gave the man the tickets for their luggage._

 _The man nodded friendly, took the little pieces of paper, and greeted back. "Welcome to Los Angeles, Mr Morningstar. I've parked your car right outside on the far right," he informed him and held out the keys._

 _"Thanks," Lucifer replied, took the keys and made his way through the airport, heading for the exit. The automatic doors slid to the sides and he guided his wife over to where his car was parked. Opening the passenger door, he gestured her to take a seat._

 _Candy thanked him with a nod and a smile and sat down. After he closed the door, she watched him walk around the car and taking a seat on the driver's side. "What I don't understand is, why didn't we take the car to drive back here?" she asked puzzled, her upper body_ _was_ _turned towards him to have a proper conversation._

 _Her question instantly brought back the memories of how he drove out of L.A., how he'd fled the city because he finally realised what he felt and why and that he had to go. He brushed off those emotions and looked at her, forcing a smile on his lips as he answered with a casual_ _-_ _sounding voice, "Just some bad memories I wanted to avoid." Without noticing it, his hand had gripped his phone and retrieved it from his pocket, and when he looked down into his hand at the little black device, he almost jumped. For a moment, he considered to open those voicemails again, to listen to just one of them, to soothe the pain in his chest, but he couldn't. He had no time for them now. He had a tight schedule from which he couldn't de_ _viate_ _at any cost, and they were a distraction. If his plans would sort out right, he wouldn't need to listen to them anymore, anyway. Then he would have her real voice back in his ears, and her real smile in front of his eyes..._

 _Candy watched him silently how he stroke with his fingers across the little phone, how gently he ran them up and down as if he was caressing it; as if this little bunch of metal had any feelings. It vexed her. During all this time they've been together, all the days and nights she didn't leave his side, whenever he took out that phone,_ _browsed_ _it_ _and_ _listened to that voice again, then it felt as if she wouldn't exist. As if nothing around him_ _m_ _atter_ _ed_ _. And she hated it that he didn't look at her the way he looked at that stupid thing. "Put the phone back!" she ordered him gravely, not hiding her annoyance. He didn't listen. He didn't even stir to indicate that he'd heard her at all. Again, it was as if he'd completely zoomed out of the world around him. But she wouldn't let him go into his own lockdown this time! Leaning over, she made a grab for the phone, determined to throw it away if necessary._

 _When he noticed the slender fingers coming into his field of view, aiming for his phone, he quickly brought it out of reach. He instantly turned his head to the side, glared at her with almost black pupils, and scolded her in a warning tone, "Candiceen!"_

 _Candy was startled, ducked her head and shirked from his look, shoving herself against the side of the door to bring as much space between them as possible. She knew she just misbehaved. And if it weren't for the people around them, she also knew he would punish her for it. Hoping to get this little incident out of his mind as quickly as possible, she changed the subject. "Are you buying me a new pair of shoes?" she_ _asked_ _, turning her head back_ _to_ _him with bright eyes and a pleading look._

 _Lucifer took a low breath to compose himself. For a split second, his lips stretched into a weak smile as he put the phone back. He turned his attention to the woman next to him, and_ _reminded her_ _, "Why? You already have five pairs."_

 _"Well," Candy halted to think about a reasonable explanation. Then her lips stretched into a cheeky grin, and she suggested, "Or you could buy me two new pairs of shoes. So I have one pair to wear each day."_

 _Lucifer chuckled at her logic. He was about to reply to her when a sudden knock on the back of his car caught his attention. He turned his head around, recognised the man with their luggage standing there and quickly opened the boot. The man stowed away the two suitcases, closed the lid and walked around the car. Lucifer thanked him for his service with a bright smile and a fifty-dollar note. He waited until the man said his goodbye and left before he turned his attention back to his wife._

 _"Are you showing me everything of L.A.?" Candy started before he could reply anything to her previous question. "The buildings, and your bedroom. The people, and your bedroom. The fashion, and your bedroom," she listed with a seductive voice, and, each time, she leant a bit closer to him and her hand that she'd placed on his knee, went a bit further to_ _wards_ _his groin._

 _With another chuckle and a quick grip on her hand to prevent her from getting any further, he gently pushed her away, purring his counter-suggestion, "Alright, I will buy you one_ _new_ _pair of shoes, if you shut up now and let me drive in peace." He saw her pleased nod and the smug smile on her lips, and added cheekily, "I'll have to run some errands later, so you won't see the bedroom anytime soon, darling." Her reply promptly came in a sulky pout and her arms folded together in front of her chest. He chuckled again at her_ _behaviour_ _, started the engine and drove off._

o ~ o

It took half the way back to the precinct before Chloe saw his Corvette appear in her rear-view mirror. The unmistakable convertible car with the black lacquer paint that shimmered in the midday sun, and his very recognisable head sticking out of it. Even from this distance, she could make out the stern look on his face; as if he was concentrating hard on something, or as if he was miffed. _She_ was, definitely! She was painstakingly sticking to the speed limits, and she knew he didn't give a damn about them, even with police around. So why was he tailgating her car as if they were glued together? Why wasn't he overtaking?

Chloe breathed out the anger she felt about this manoeuvre and all the others before and mentally filed it under one of his many pesky behaviours. Did he know that he infuriated her with something like that? Did he do it on purpose? Or did he simply not care? Chloe shook her head to get rid of the thoughts, even if they currently seemed to be sewed to her mind. The precinct wasn't far anymore and right after the interrogation and getting the confirmation that he hadn't anything to do with her case, he would be out of her sight. And hopefully out of her mind as well.

She drove up the ramp to the parking deck, parked her car in her spot, exited it, and walked over to the entry door to the precinct below. Loud sounds of squealing tyres disrupted the peaceful silence of the typical lunch break time, and she knew Lucifer was right behind. She waited at the door, only deigning to look at him out of the corners of her eyes, when he parked and exited his car as well, and walked over to her at a slightly faster pace than usual.

"You could have waited for me, you know," he greeted her in a reproaching tone, his face briefly fixed on her while he passed her as he walked through the door she was holding open. When it was too uncomfortable for his neck to twist further, he turned his head straightforward, and he walked to the elevator, stopping in front of it.

Chloe rolled her eyes and went right past him towards the staircase. "Why?" she asked in a nonchalant tone and stepped down.

For a moment, his eyebrows raised to his hairline in puzzlement as he watched her disappear behind the wall. ' _Since when doesn't she take the lift?_ ' he wondered, but quickly shook it off and followed her. Making sure that he was always less than three steps behind her, he answered blatantly, "To share a car, of course!" Lowering his voice back to normal, he added with a shrug of his shoulders, "No need to unnecessarily burden the environment."

Chloe stopped abruptly, taking a step to the side to not let him bump into her, and stared at him in disbelief. "The environment?" she repeated with a sceptical frown and countered sardonically, "Sure!" ' _As if he were suddenly so concerned about the things and people around him!_ ' it shot into her mind and she slightly shook her head as she continued her walk down to the second floor, letting him fall behind again. "I have better things to do than to drive you back to your little _wifey_ afterwards!" she remarked, disgruntled, her head half turned to him to make sure he _did_ understand each and every word of hers. Then she grabbed the door handle and walked right through, not caring that the safety door would fall back in his face when she let go again.

Lucifer had to block the reverting door with his forearm to prevent it from colliding with his body, and stared after her as she was walking away, surprised, confused, and also a bit turned on by her recently feisty nature. He could imagine quite well where else this behaviour would come in handy and almost regretted that it was wasted just on their little banter, or rather the warm-up to a decent fight. It definitely would get some pent-up anger out of the both of them, that was for sure. But as long as he wasn't certain that he would also enjoy the outcome of that venting, he preferred her anger to be right where it was at the moment. Smiling smugly about his own silent debate, he stepped into the precinct, walked down the stairs and halted at the glass railing.

He looked across the room, taking in the familiar view and sighed pleased. It felt a little like coming home again, he noticed, and light-footedly walked down the next stairs to get into the main area. Some heads turned around to him when he made his way over to where Chloe already was; some were smiling at him, one even waved his hand, and he made sure to reply to their open display of affection with a well-set smile and a nod of his head. Turning his attention back to Chloe, he realised with displeasure that he somehow had fallen behind... or she'd increased her pace to get to her desk, he silently noted. He was about to rush to her, when a high-pitched "Lucifer!" resounded from behind, making him instantly stop in his track and turn around. Suddenly a small, but all the more strong figure was clinging to him, startling him a little. "Hello, Ella," he greeted her delightedly, and, rather awkwardly, returned the hug.

Ella was beaming all over her face when she let go of him again and took a step back. "Oh my gosh! Look at you," she examined him thoroughly and shook her head, smiling brightly. "You're finally back! I'll get Chloe right away," she commented and was about to run past him when he stopped her.

"No need to do that," he quickly informed her and elucidated with a slightly unnerved smile, "She brought me here!"

"What?" Ella uttered, completely gobsmacked. "I thought she didn't know where you'd run off to?"

Lucifer stared at her, baffled, until his mind processed her words properly. Then he let out a low chuckle and explained to her, "No, dear. I came back to L.A. yesterday. Chloe ordered me to come to the precinct today because I might be a witness in a murder case."

"Oh! The murder in the church," she exclaimed, having understood now. She shook her head again about him, a big grin on her face, still stunned that he really was back. "Wow! I mean, her first case and you show up. If that isn't a sign, huh," she commented teasingly and showed him her bright teeth.

"Her first case?" repeated Lucifer and stared at her, slightly confused. "Since when?" He'd barely spoken the words when suddenly his name was blared through the room.

"Lucifer!" Chloe called him grumpily, and impatiently tapped with her shoe on the floor. Holding a file in one hand, her other was wrapped around the handle of the open door to the interrogation room. She sent him a frowning glare and gestured into the room to visualise that she didn't have all day.

"I need to go now," Lucifer told Ella while his eyes were on Chloe. He nodded obediently towards the Detective before he briefly turned his attention to the lab technician. "Don't want to let her wait too long," he excused himself, gave Ella an apologetic smile, and turned around.

"Alright!" Ella voiced her understanding. Before he could walk off, however, she held him back. "Hey, do you wanna grab a coffee or so, later? I wanna hear everything about where you've been and what you did," she declared with a cheeky grin.

"It'd be my pleasure!" Lucifer purred, smiled once more at her and then walked over to Chloe at a quick pace. When he was within her earshot, he apologised profoundly, "Sorry, love. Got held up a bit." Ignoring her looking daggers at him, he walked past her and took a seat at the desk. He silently watched her closing the door, taking seat opposite to him and thumbing the file she was holding on the table, before he asked curiously, "What can I help you with?"

Chloe took a low breath to get herself into police mode. Wordlessly she retrieved a picture from out of the file and shoved it towards him. "Do you know this man?" she questioned without batting an eye.

Lucifer bent slightly forward and attentively looked at the picture. "No," he denied, shaking his head.

She took the next picture from the file and put it on top of the victim's photo, asking him further, "Then, you don't know this church either?"

This time, he didn't need to take a closer look. "Yes, I do know that church," he answered right away and smiled politely at her.

"From where?" questioned Chloe, one eyebrow raised in expectation.

"I've been there," he answered, still smiling.

She straightened herself and put both hands in front of her, forming a triangle with her fingers as she went on, "When?"

"Yesterday," Lucifer answered, but the smile he sent her this time was strained. He didn't like this inquiry-response cycle, especially not from her. The tone of her voice and the look on her face made clear that she already knew the answers to these questions. And it was a bit unnerving for him to waste his precious time with her on such blatant things.

Chloe leant against the backrest of her chair, and questioned in a nonchalant tone, "What time have you been there yesterday?"

"Don't know." He shrugged his shoulders, leant a bit forward and counter-questioned smugly, "Why don't you tell me?"

Chloe narrowed her eyes at him and his knowing look, sparing the answer, while she took out the next picture and silently placed it in front of him as well. It showed him, leaving the church, with the time stamp encircled in red. "Care to tell me why you're leaving a church in which one hour later a man gets killed?" she asked harshly, allowing her annoyance to sound through.

Lucifer tensed at her sudden change in tone and sighed. "Look, Chloe-"

"You don't get to call me Chloe!" she brusquely cut him off, while standing up and slightly towering over him. "For you, it's either 'Detective Decker', 'Detective' or simply 'ma'am'! Is that understood?" she went off gruffly and, without waiting for his reply, she sat back down and stared at him with a stony face.

He narrowed his eyes at her, upset about her behaviour towards him. ' _Why did she need to put on such a show?'_ it shot through his head. But at least, they were getting somewhere now. "I haven't the slightest idea why that man got killed in that church I've been, _ma'am_!" he answered her formally, and snidely remarked, "It's a church! Many people go to churches. Why don't you ask them?"

"The church is deserted," she answered without missing a beat, her voice normal as if this slight outburst of hers hadn't just happened. Taking a deep breath to buy herself some time and sort her thoughts, she tilted her head to the side and asked him with genuine interest, "What did you want in that church?"

"I was looking for something," he answered, mimicking her tone and posture.

Chloe tilted her head to the other side, staring at him puzzled. "Looking for what?"

"That's private," he explained with a smile and straightened himself.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" she probed him further.

"Again, that's private," he repeated with a smile.

Chloe narrowed her eyes at him. "Lucifer, if you don't give me something substantial, you'll very likely get arrested for that murder!" she announced in equal amounts of annoyance and concern.

"Why?" His voice went an octave higher in bafflement, and he tensed up, half shouting in outrage, "I didn't kill him!"

"Because you're the only suspect so far!" she answered and this time her concern for him outweighed. She knew he didn't do it, seeing his reaction even confirmed her further, but the dice weren't rolling in his favour. Taking a breath to let the silence soothe both their tempers a little, she continued, imploringly asking, "What were you looking for in that church?"

"Chlo-," Lucifer stopped himself right away and took a deep breath. Gritting his teeth as he exhaled the air from his lungs, his eyes fixed an invisible spot on the blank metal table. When he looked up, back to his cheerful self, he answered her with the utmost respect and the perfect ability to speak without saying anything at all, "Detective, I can't tell you. I did not kill that man. That's all I can say."

Chloe let out a disgruntled huff and gathered the pictures back into her file. "Fine!" she mumbled and stood up. Not sparing another look at him, she exited the room.

"Are we done here?" Lucifer asked, perplexed and confused about her sudden leave. Why did she want him to come to the precinct if this was all she wanted to know? She could have asked this in his penthouse, he thought and felt some anger stirring his stomach. Getting no answer, he quickly stood up and hurried after her. When he exited the room, he saw Ella approaching Chloe and halted for a moment, considering if he should give them some privacy. But then again, why should he do that? he asked himself. It most probably was something about the case and he wanted to know what was going on. And if it wasn't the case, well, he could always need some salacious comments shared between women...

Ella stopped right in front of Chloe, making her look up at her instantly, and without warning, she blurted out, "We've got a match on the fingerprints from the man's chin!" Seeing Chloe's intrigued look, she went on in a hushed but stunned tone, "They're from Charlotte Richards!"

Chloe narrowed her eyes as the wheels in her mind started to spin at a rapid speed. Why were that woman's fingerprints on the dead body? So far, the man was registered as a John Doe. He'd looked neat, but far from rich, and Mrs Richards wasn't known to socialise in the lower classes. She was about to ask her friend if she might know something more when suddenly a deep British accent piped up behind her.

"Why was Charlotte in that church?" asked Lucifer bewildered, and took a step forward to get closer to the two women. He waited for their answer, alternately looking at the Detective and the lab technician, while his thoughts ran wild: If his mum was there so shortly after him, she must have followed him, and that meant she knew he was back in L.A. and probably also got a glimpse at his plans. ' _Bloody hell!_ ' it shot through his mind, couldn't he take one step without his mother screwing up his life? When he got aware that neither Chloe nor Ella had answered his question yet, he fixed his gaze on the former, and requested, "Go on! Do tell."

"That's none of your business, Lucifer," Chloe countered, instantly getting buttoned up and taking a step back to withdraw herself from his stare. Turning her attention to the lab technician, she stated warmly, "Thanks, Ella. I'll check that." She had intended to ask her friend some more about the victim and the church but found it quite unnerving with Lucifer so close on her heels. Therefore, she decided to go for the lead first, turned around and walked towards the exit. The distinct sound of heavy footsteps echoed behind her, and she stopped again, turned to the man, and inquired him baffled, "What are you doing?"

Lucifer looked at her, confused about why she was asking him the obvious. "You're about to interrogate Charlotte about why her fingerprints had been on that body," he pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone. Before Chloe was even able to ask him "And?" he went on, "I'm coming with you, of course!"

"No, you're not!" Chloe countered gruffly, sternly shook her head and turned back to continue her walk. When she heard his perplexed "But I'm your partner!" sounding from behind, she nearly lost it. Wheeling back to him, she hissed angrily, "No! Not anymore! You left, remember?" With that, she turned back and stormed off.

Lucifer stared after her, stunned and lost, as she walked up the stairs and disappeared behind the exit door. Why was this woman so difficult? It almost felt as if his absence had wiped out the entire two years of their close cooperation; as if he was nothing but a stranger to her. He sighed deeply. He needed to know what was going on with her if he wanted to be able to keep track on his mother. If it was really her who'd killed the man in that church, then she'd unleashed a sequence of events which end he had to prevent at any cost. Determined, he turned around, pondering about who could be of use for that. As he saw the very familiar ponytail showing up in front of him, swinging from side to side as its holder went from one room to the other, his features brightened up again. "Of course!" he muttered with a cheeky smile and walked right back.

Ella was loading the separator with little tubes when suddenly a jovial voice resounded right next to her ear. "Ella!" She was startled and nearly dropped the tubes. Turning around, she was greeted with a wide grin on Lucifer's face. "Lucifer," she exclaimed and silently exhaled her fright. "What can I do for you?"

He flashed her a bright smile and wiggled his eyebrows teasingly. "Many, many things I could think of, but," he trailed off, calling himself back to order, and then focused his mind back on her. "What about that coffee you were talking about?" he asked expectantly and lightly bobbed up and down with his feet.

"Oh, sure," she answered cheerfully and suggested right away, "Just say when."

"Now!" he declared, grabbed her arm and dragged her off.

/-/

Lucifer brought her into the nearest coffee shop, shoved her into one of the booths and quickly went to order their drinks. With a frothy café latte for her and a double espresso for himself, he went back to Ella, placed both drinks on the table and sat down opposite to her. "So, tell me, why is the Detective so uptight lately?" he went straight to the point.

Ella stared at him, baffled, confused, and innerly asked herself if it really had been such a good idea to leave the protective walls of the precinct to go with him to a place where she was alone and completely at the mercy of his persuasive interrogation skills. She swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat, grabbed the glass in front of her and relished how its warmth radiated through her hands and soothed her nerves. Picking it up, she took a long sip to buy herself some more time. The coffee was so good that she closed her eyes for a minute to completely savour its taste and only got brought back into the here and now when she heard a fingernail tapping impatiently on the wooden table. "Well," she started and slowly put her drink back down. "A lot has happened since you left," she eventually stated and hoped that she'd said enough to please him but without actually saying anything.

"So, this is all because I left her!?" Lucifer rephrased, half as a statement and half as a question. He narrowed his eyes and huffed out his anger. _'That woman was really unbelievable!'_ it went through his head. All this fuss and behaviour just because he didn't say goodbye? There were more important things going on in his life than discussing his further steps with her! And hadn't he already shown how much he cared about her? He'd saved her life for crying out loud! Twice! And probably a third time by bringing her out of his father's game... Lucifer took a deep breath and picked up his cup, drinking the espresso in one go. As the hot liquid ran down his throat, warming up his stomach, he felt his anger cease again, leaving him only with the unpleasant feeling of sadness. "I really thought she was better than that," he mumbled to himself, but unfortunately it was still loud enough for the woman opposite of him to hear.

Ella stared at him in disbelief. She knew he was self-centred, but _that_ self-centred? "It isn't about you!" she burst out, releasing her anger. She wanted to speak further, to defend her friend who had been through so much pain, but she was lost for words. She didn't know what to say without betraying Chloe.

At her outcry, Lucifer had pricked his ears and was now studying her with attentive interest: She was staring at him with a mixture of rage and distress, and that poked his curiosity even more. "What do you mean?" he asked concernedly and leant forward. He saw Ella's gaze instantly shirking from him, and she looked down at her fingers that fiddled with each other. Maybe it had something to do with that comment of hers from before, that it was Chloe's ' _first case_ '? it went through his head, and he straightened himself, put on his best persuasive smile, and purred, "Ella." He put his hand on hers to get her attention, but the desired effect stood out.

Ella stared at his hand with eyes wide in shock; to be more precise, at the ring that was on his finger and clearly looked like a wedding ring. After a moment, she looked back up at him and uttered baffled, "You're married?"

He swallowed the uneasy feeling that came up at her reaction and quickly pulled back his hand. Hiding the particular spot beneath his other hand, he answered with a polite smile, "Well, yes."

"Does Chloe know?" she asked, appalled, and her eyes grew bigger.

Lucifer leant back, hoping the increased distance would also help the discomforting feeling inside of him vanish again. It didn't! He quickly shrugged it off, and replied with an almost defensive undertone in his voice, "Of course! She already met Candy!"

"Candy," Ella repeated sceptically, not wanting to believe her ears. "Your wife's name's Candy?" When she saw his eager nod and the smug grin, her sight fixed on an invisible spot on the table and she mumbled to herself, probing the name on her tongue, "Candy Morningstar." Turning her gaze back to him, she commented dryly, "That sounds like a hooker's name!"

"Well," Lucifer started and shrugged his shoulders in a baffled way. His eyes wandered around the shop while he thought about it. "Regarding from where I've picked her up, that might actually be true," he stated eventually, but quickly added with a grin, "But that life's long gone. She's a different person now."

"A different person?" she echoed his words in a hushed tone. It hadn't been that Candy who she considered to have suddenly become a different person, she admitted silently. But on the other hand, love had strange ways. Well, she actually thought Lucifer had already been in love but... maybe Cupid just screwed up... big time... and this won't last long... hopefully...

Lucifer smiled brightly as he confirmed her cheekily, "A very, very different person." Deciding that they had talked enough about his private affairs and that it was time to get back to the main reason he brought her here, he stated, almost luring her verbally, "Ella, imagine you were Chloe. How could I get back into your good graces?"

"If I were Chloe?" she repeated quietly and thought about the things that had happened between the two and how she would have reacted. When she had the answer, she folded her arms and replied with half a chuckle, "Never!" She saw how abruptly Lucifer's features darkened to that of surprise and bewilderment, and she quickly elucidated, "Don't get me wrong. I'm all into this ' _forgive your enemies_ '-thing. But I also wouldn't forget it. And considering how you left her, and especially how you came back, I would never let you near me again. That's the truth, sorry." She sighed, and nodded to herself, before she commented warmly, "You can be glad that she's not me, Lucifer."

"Thanks for the honesty, though," Lucifer replied, his heart now very heavy.

Ella nodded again, this time to him. She took a quick sip from her coffee, and then stood up and stepped next to him. Looking down, she sympathetically patted his shoulder and gave him a well-meant advice, "If you want to know anything about her, and what she's been through, then ask her, Lucifer. Talk to her." She sighed again, seeing his acknowledging nod she went on, "Thanks for the coffee, though. And welcome back." With that, she left.

Lucifer pursed his lips. This talk wasn't any helpful at all! It was rather unsatisfying! he thought, sighed and got up himself. Ella was right, he silently admitted when he exited the shop. He needed to talk to Chloe to know what was going on with her. But at the moment, he'd rather do anything else than emotional striptease in front of her. For instance, concentrating on the main problem ahead: mum.

/-/

When Lucifer entered the dark space of LUX, he could quickly make out Candy sitting at the bar, sipping on a drink and talking to the bartender. Wondering, he directly walked over to her and inquired curiously, "Why aren't you having lunch?"

Candy looked at him. The beginning of a buzz visible on her face, she replied, surprisingly clear, "I didn't want to go alone! Here, I'm in company," she explained and pointed to the man behind the bar. Then she raised her glass, and added, "And I have my drinks."

Lucifer rolled his eyes at her, sighed frustratedly and rebuked her like he'd done so often in the past couple of weeks, "Alcohol is not a substitute for lunch, dear. Your body needs proper nutrition, otherwise, it will shut down. And we don't want that, do we?" He stared at her insistently. When her reply came in the form of a miffed glare and a low huff, he grabbed her hand and pulled her off the barstool to take her upstairs. He'd barely turned around when suddenly a very familiar voice resounded from the railing.

"So it's true!" Maze called out and slowly made her way down the stairs. "You're finally back," she addressed Lucifer and smiled at him with one eye, while the other one was filled with rage.

"Maze!" shouted Lucifer, pleasantly surprised, and flashed her a cheeky grin.

Candy looked up with wide eyes as she watched the woman in front of her slowly coming closer. "Mazikeen!" she breathed, appalled, and instantly sought protection behind Lucifer.

"Oh!" Maze replied, surprised at this unknown woman's spoken word. "You know my name?" she asked, intrigued, and took a step to the side to have the woman in better view, the fear that had flashed upon her face only added up to her fascination.

Candy tightened the grip she had on Lucifer's arm and leant a little closer. "Um," she stammered while looking for words, and then replied timidly, "Lucifer told me a lot about you."

"Is that so?" Maze purred and probed her further, "What else did he tell you?" She was curious and also a little suspicious about why the woman was so clearly cowed by her sheer presence.

"Maze, we don't have time for this," Lucifer interrupted her, and declared rather impatiently, "I'm busy right now, so what do you want?"

"Well," Maze addressed him but didn't move her eyes off of the woman as she went on, "Don't you want to introduce me to your-?" she pointed at her and then looked to Lucifer.

"My wife, Candy," Lucifer completed her with a cheeky grin.

Maze chuckled befuddled and disbelievingly looked back and forth between him and the woman. The expression on his face told her that he wasn't joking at all, and her jaw dropped. Hastily regaining her composure from that shock, she stared at him with a ' _you can't be serious_ '-expression and asked with a sardonic tone, "Your wife?"

Lucifer forced a smile on his face and replied cockily, "What shall I say, I've decided to settle down." He narrowed his lips to a thin line, grabbed Candy's hand and pulled her with him as he walked towards the elevator, not wasting another look at his demon.

Completely ignoring the woman next to him, Maze rushed up the stairs and half blocked their way. "You can't just say she's your wife now and then leave!" she scolded him sternly.

"As you've seen, I just did!" he retorted cockily and pressed the button for the elevator.

Maze stared at him, her bewilderment completely changed into that of anger and concern. "Does Chloe know?"

"Why does everyone ask me this?" he snarled and grumbled frustratedly. Turning his eyes to Maze, he glared at her scornfully, and countered darkly, "It's neither _your_ business who I'm married to nor is it _hers_!" When he felt the beginning of sorrow crawling up on him, stirred by her question and the reminder at the talk he had with Ella, he quickly pushed that emotion back down and locked it away. The high-pitched ping of the elevator resounded, saving him from another wave of sentiment. Its doors slid open. He shoved Candy into the cubicle and then testily replied to his demon, "What do you want?"

"The more important question here is: What do _you_ want?" she copied his words and watched him stepping into the lift as well. Without getting an answer from him, the doors slid shut and she huffed angrily, kicked against the closed door in frustration, and stomped off, promising herself to keep an eye on Lucifer, and that _wife_.

/-/

Dan was already in front of _Richards and Wheeler_ , beckoning her over as Chloe exited her car, and she quickly jogged to him. "Did you watch the rest of the footage yet?" she asked him with interest while they entered the building.

He nodded at her. "No one else exited or entered the building from yesterday morning until the moment we found the body."

"So the killer must have left through the back-door, then," Chloe concluded, with half her mind already forming new ideas.

"Or," Dan started, but was cut off by his ex-wife right away.

"No!" she denied sternly and shook her head, making very clear to him that this topic was off the table. They walked over to Mrs Richards' secretary, showing their badges. "We want to speak to Mrs Richards," she announced, her demanding tone clarified that she meant ' _now_ '.

Without raising an eyebrow, the secretary silently gestured over to the waiting area before he replied, uninflected, "I'll inform her." With that, he turned his attention back to his screen, ignoring them standing in front of him.

Chloe narrowed her eyes, but obediently turned around and took a seat on the black leather couch.

Dan slumped down next to her, continuing their talk in a hushed voice, "Look, Chloe, he is the only suspect so far."

She turned around to him, sending him a death glare, but then replied in a normal, almost caring tone, "The only one who exited the building on the front, where surveillance cameras were on the street. No one who'd just killed someone would be that stupid and give us the hint that leads directly to them." Taking a look around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, she went on, "There is a back door, unwatched. And _someone_ called the police."

"A male voice," Dan flatly pointed out.

"Not Lucifer's voice!" Chloe corrected him and sighed. The man's killer was out there, maybe even within these walls and concentrating their time and energy on Lucifer just because he was an easy target was the worst thing they could do now. At least she got the case, she thought, and not someone who wanted a clear open-and-shut one for their career.

"Excuse me," the secretary piped up, interrupting her chain of thoughts, and informed them, pointing towards the big double door, "Mrs Richards has time for you now."

Chloe stood up and nodded her thanks at him. With Dan in tow, she entered the office.

"Detective Decker," Charlotte greeted her in a jovial tone. Then, when her eyes landed on the man, she continued with a more lasciviously sounding voice, "Daniel." She sent him a lecherous smile and got rewarded with a disgruntled frown. Pleased with herself, she turned her attention back to the female Detective and asked curiously, "What can I do for you?"

For a moment, Chloe stared at the woman, perplexed about her unusual demeanour and instantly got suspicious. She unlocked her phone, switched to the picture of her murder victim, and held it towards the attorney. "You can tell me who this man is!" she answered sternly and attentively watched every change in the other woman's expression.

Charlotte stood up from behind her desk and walked around to have a better look at the picture. "I have absolutely no idea who this man is, Detective," she replied calmly and sat down on her desk, showing her long legs that were partly covered in a tight skirt and sending another glance towards Dan.

"Really?" Chloe remarked in surprise, not believing one word from that woman. She lowered the phone in her hand and questioned suspiciously, "Then why are your fingerprints on his face?"

"Isn't that your job to tell me?" countered Charlotte with a smug grin and folded her arms in front of her chest.

Her suspicion got confirmed when Chloe recognised no stir in Charlotte's features or posture at the fingerprint information. "Then let me rephrase my question," she retorted and went on sternly, "Where were you yesterday between four and five in the afternoon?"

Charlotte tilted her head sideways and looked up at the ceiling, making it seem like she was thinking hard about the question. "Let's see," she began and fixed her sight back on Chloe. "Yesterday around one in the afternoon I had lunch with some clients. Then I got a call from my son and went home. And after that, I went back to my office preparing myself for my next case."

"When did you return to your office, yesterday?" Dan queried without showing any emotion.

"About six in the evening," the lawyer answered directly, shrugged her shoulders, and added with a smirk, "You can ask my secretary for the exact time. He was still here when I came back."

"I need reconfirmations from your clients and your son as well," Chloe informed her dryly. Getting a verbal "sure" from her suspect, she lowered her gaze down to her phone and swapped through the pictures for the one of the church. When she found it, she held it high and questioned, "Do you know this church?"

"No," Charlotte replied without taking a closer look. "Why?"

"That's where the man got killed," Chloe answered her straight-faced.

"Well, if it was in a church, then I'm pretty sure someone would have seen me if I was there, right?" she countered cockily.

"The church is deserted," Chloe replied, miffed. The woman's supercilious behaviour started to tick her off.

Charlotte let out a low chuckle as she stared back and forth between the two Detectives. After a moment of silence, she declared with a trace of disdain in her voice, "So, let me summarise what you have so far: A dead man in a deserted church. No witnesses. No suspects." She waited for the Detective's non-verbal confirmation before she went on, "So, you only came to me because you found, and I quote: 'my fingerprints on his face'. Is that all?" When she saw Chloe's disgruntled nod, she laughed out loud. "What? Did you come here hoping I could solve the case for you?" she asked sarcastically and rebukingly shook her head. "Really Detective, I thought you'd be better." After another moment of silent disapproval had passed, Charlotte commented snidely, "Actually, you once were better. Well... until that... day," she ended, making it very clear what exactly she meant, and added snidely, "I can't believe they let you back into the precinct, with your... condition." She grinned smugly at her and looked her up and down as if she was seeing the scars on her body.

Chloe wanted to leap forward and slap that grin right out of the woman's face, but Dan was quickly at her side, gripping her arm tightly and holding her back. She glared at Charlotte, her eyes showing the hatred she felt, and she warned her, "I swear, Mrs Richards, if you had anything to do-"

"If you have nothing else to do than to threaten me in my own office," Charlotte cut her off, the smile vanished from her face, replaced by an impending stare as she went on, "then you better leave now. Or else, I'll make your little pathetic life a living hell!"

"Come on, Chloe, we're done here," Dan whispered soothingly, trying to calm her down, and lightly pulled at her arm.

Chloe threw a hate-filled "Have a nice day, ma'am!" into her face, and, with a last death glare sent towards the attorney, she turned around and left the office, heading straight to the secretary.

When they were back outside, Dan walked her over to her car. He could clearly see that she still was upset about Charlotte's words. Who wouldn't be! And he would have preferred to drive her back to the precinct, but he knew, Chloe would never allow such pampering. Hoping he could calm her down a bit more, he engaged her in a conversation. "Do you believe she's innocent?"

Chloe let out a scornful chuckle and shook her head. "As innocent as Ted Bundy," she remarked and took a deep breath to calm herself down. She stared back at the law firm, commenting lowly, "That woman is up to something! I can feel it."

Dan nodded at her, assuring her that he had the same impression. "What do you wanna do next?"

"I need to find out something more about the victim, see if there have been filed any missing person reports by now, or if I can find a connection between our victim and that... bitch!" it blurted out of her. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and calling herself back to order. When she opened them again, she looked at Dan, asking him nicely, "Could you check these clients her secretary had given us, get their statements about yesterday, and that of her son, too?"

"Sure," Dan affirmed and gently caressed her arm. After they nodded their goodbye to each other, he went back to his car and both drove off.

/-/

As soon as the doors slid open, Lucifer rushed out of the lift and made a bee-line to his dressing room. Going straight to the closet on the far left, he opened the door, squatted down and rummaged around in its back until he found the little casket. Without ceremony, he opened the casket and withdrew the little notebook from inside. A worried sigh left his lips as he put the casket on the ground and stood back up, his hands carefully gripping the little bunch of paper.

It was supposed to be easy! Everything was carefully planned out to get revenge on both his parents, to hit them right where they were the most vulnerable. But what he hadn't thought to find when he investigated his brother's cryptic message ' _the piece is here_ ', was this little notebook he now held in hands. At first, he had been delighted to read what was written inside: The clues of where to find each one of the gemstones he needed to carry out his plan of vengeance. But when he'd reached the last page his brother had written, he was shocked to the bones. Five prophecies were written down there, equal to the number of stones, and if the first one would be fulfilled, it would lead to the next and so on... until to the very last one. And that would be devastating. Not just for him, but also for everyone else in this world who then had to endure his wrath. But he couldn't let that happen. He had to stop the last one from happening! Under any circumstances...

Opening the notebook and browsing to the last page, he halted for a moment and then chuckled quietly at the irony. He didn't need to look at that page again. He knew what was written there. He could recite it in his sleep. So why was he bothering to check its content again? Was he hoping the letters had changed? That he'd find something else written there, something that wasn't there before? He didn't know. He just felt the urge to re-read the lines, to confirm himself. "Mum will sin in the house of God." Well, that made it very clear to him now. ' _House of God_ ' was the church. ' _Mum_ ' was, well, mum. And with ' _sin_ ', his brother most probably referred to the murder she'd done. So, that was it, the first prophecy. Fulfilled, just because he wasn't careful enough and let himself get seen by his mother.

Lucifer shook his head, silently scolding himself for his reckless behaviour. "Damn it!" he mumbled and his mind instantly got filled with the agonising pictures of what could be. He needed to reconfirm if this really was his mother's doing in the church, he told himself, squatted down, put the notebook back in its casket and stored it back inside the closet, before he left the room again, heading straight to the lift.

"Where are you going?" Candy questioned perplexed, staring at him from the couch she was sitting on, one drink in hand.

Without looking at her, Lucifer replied tersely, "Have to find out something."

Candy stood up, walking after him. When she was a couple of steps behind him, she halted, leaving a careful gap between them, just in case, and asked full of hope, "Can I come with you?"

"No!" he denied right away. "I don't need you there." He looked at her, saw her sad eyes and her pout, and grabbed his credit card from out of his jacket, showing it to her before placing it onto the piano with the words, "Here, go shopping."

"Why are you leaving me all alone again!" she complained, folded her arms and stamped her foot like a twelve-year-old. "You've changed so much since we're here," she continued, mumbling. "You haven't even slept with me since we left that stupid plane."

Lucifer rolled his eyes at her moaning. "Candy, not now!" he reprimanded her sternly. "I have things to do and I don't need you for that. If you're bored, then go play with yourself. Or go downstairs and ask the bartender if he could call the Brittanys to keep you some company. I'm sure you'll like their games," he suggested curtly. He sighed when he saw the tears in her eyes from his scolding and walked over to her, pecked her on the head, and gave her a quick, tender hug. "I'm in a rush, dear," he explained to her in a caring manner. "We'll talk later, alright?" He placed his finger under her chin and gently lifted her head to properly look at her. "Now be good and do what I say." Seeing her nod, he smiled pleased, kissed her on her forehead and left without further words.

The doors to the elevator slid shut, and Candy's sad face changed to that of hatred. "That's all just because of that woman!" she whispered scornfully and wiped the tears off of her cheeks, promising herself to do something about her. That Detective would not push herself in between her and Lucifer. She would make sure of that! With force, if she had to!

/-/

Entering the precinct again, Lucifer went straight to the desk Chloe was sitting at and without beating around the bush, he began, "Did my-" He quickly stopped himself before the m-word could slip off his tongue and, correcting himself, asked her urgently, "Did Charlotte Richards kill that man in the church?"

Chloe locked her eyes on the screen she'd been looking at for the past hour, searching for a hint of the man's identity who was still listed as John Doe. So far, she had nothing. No name, no connection to Charlotte Richards except for those two fingerprints, and sadly also no motive. But these all were things the man in front of her didn't need to know. "It's still an open case. I won't tell you any detail about it," she informed him without any display of emotions.

Lucifer rolled his eyes at her dismissive attitude. Of course, she would continue to play Madam Farouche! "Chloe-" he started but quickly stopped himself as he saw her head shooting up and her eyes glaring darkly at him. He innerly winced and apologised with his hands raised in surrender. "Sorry! Detective Decker, do you have a connection between that murder and Mrs Richards? Yes or no?" he rephrased his question.

"That's none of your business!" she snapped and concentrated back on the monitor.

Letting out a frustrated groan, he countered, miffed, "I'm just here to help you solve the case!"

Chloe looked back at him with narrowed eyes and a grumpy frown. "You've done enough!" she hissed and turned her gaze back to the screen.

Somehow that sounded as if she wasn't referring to the case, it shot through Lucifer's mind. "Fine! Then stay so bloody stubborn!" he huffed and straightened himself, taking a step back and looking absent-mindedly through the place while in his mind he searched for a way to get the information nevertheless.

Without another word, Chloe stood up from her desk, grabbed her personal belongings, put on her jacket, and walked past him. That really was enough! Not only that he'd showed up twice in the precinct. Now, he pestered her about that case as if this was the only concern on his mind. She wasn't his private investigator! She was a Police Detective. She had other things to do than discussing her murder case with him!

Lucifer stared after her as she made her way straight to the exit and quickly followed her, asking her bewildered, "Where are you going?"

"That's none of your business!" she answered brusquely. His footsteps were close behind her again, and she tensed up completely. Knowing he wouldn't let go that easily, she wheeled around, quick like a shot, glared at him, and hissed gravely, "Lucifer, leave me alone!"

Ignoring her fear-instilling look, he straightened himself, put on a brave mask, and countered calmly, "Not until you tell me where you're going?" He raised one eyebrow, adding curiously, "Do you have a lead?"

"No! I'm going home!" she grumbled, too exhausted to fight with him any further. This day had already worn her out and she desperately needed the rest before she would freak out.

Her answer took him by surprise. "What? Why?" he asked, baffled. Usually, Chloe would never just go home when she had a case.

"Because it's late!" she countered, raising her arms in defeat. It really was too much to handle. This man drove her to insanity.

Lucifer stared at her, even more flabbergasted about her reply. "But you have a case!" he complained, his voice an octave higher in consternation.

"And I still have one tomorrow!" she retorted, at the brink of losing it right here in the precinct. Before he could say anything further this time, she quickly turned around and left.

Lucifer kept on staring after her until she disappeared behind the door. He was baffled about her words, completely gobsmacked to be precise. Why did she change so much in such short time? Was it really because he'd left? He barely recognised his Chloe in her. Taking a deep breath to sort his thoughts, he decided to take matters into his own hands. If she was too busy to continue looking for the murderer of this man, so be it! He was determined to find out if his mother had a finger in this pie. And he knew right where to start.

/-/

With the last of her strength, Chloe unlocked the door to her home and stepped inside, putting her keys on the counter, and grabbing a twenty-dollar note from her wallet. The babysitter came walking towards her, her backpack hanging over one shoulder and her jacket over her other arm. "Here, thanks for taking care of Trixie," she greeted the young college student, placed the banknote in the girl's open hand and made room for her to leave.

"Thanks. Trixie was adorable, as always," the girl replied with a smile and left.

Closing the door and locking it, Chloe quickly stripped out of her jacket and then made her way directly over to her child's room. She carefully opened the door, peeping inside, and smiled when she saw her daughter grinning at her from under the blanket she was tightly wrapped into. "Hey monkey!" she greeted her in a hushed voice and stepped inside.

"Hi mummy," Trixie greeted back and watched her mother taking a book from the shelf before she crawled halfway into her bed and snuggled her head into her. She gave her a quick hug, asking concerned, "Did you have a rough day?"

"You can say that," Chloe mumbled against her daughter's neck and took a deep breath. Her daughter smelled heavenly, and it instantly calmed her down. Turning to the side, she opened the book at the first page. "Ready for story time?" she asked and peeped towards her child. When she saw the wide grin and the confirming nod, she turned her attention back to the words and started to read.

She should have taken a book with larger letters, Chloe thought when she saw some of them shrinking in front of her eyes. She had trouble concentrating and already had to yawn twice before she even was at the bottom of the first page.

Trixie chuckled at her mother and caringly stroke across her hair. Two more poorly read lines and she took pity on her. "Want me to read it?" she offered warmly.

Chloe nodded thankfully. "Sure, babe," she answered and gave the book to her daughter. She turned around, hugging her daughter and snuggling some more into her as her child started to read.

Trixie managed to read two pages before she heard the soft sounds of even breaths coming from her mum. She grinned at her, put the book aside, tossed the cover of her blanket across her mother's sleeping figure to make sure at least half of her body stayed warm during the night, and then placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Sleep tight," she whispered softly and pushed the button to switch off the light.

* * *

 **A/N:** End of chapter two :D I hope you liked it. Please let me know. And for those of you who like answering questions: Which conflict situation did you like the most? Chloe – Lucifer, Lucifer – Ella, Maze – Lucifer, Chloe/Dan – Charlotte, or the second Chloe – Lucifer?

My beta mentioned that he didn't know right away what I meant with "Madam Farouche", and for those of you who also don't know this word, here's a little explanation :D : farouche is a word coming from the French but widely used in English (at least in the 18th century :D). It means a person who is "unsociable in a fierce or surly way" or "lacks social grace" (from the collingsdictionary dot com) :D

Thanks for reading :D

Have a nice day!

:o)


	3. The first thing on my mind

**A/N:** Hello my dear readers. Thank you all again for your lovely reviews. You all expressed very vividly how frustrated you are about Lucifer's actions. Just let me assure you, it's not everything as it seems. And please keep in mind that he doesn't know anything about what had happened to Chloe. :) That said, I hope you're ready for a more febrile atmosphere between Chloe and Lucifer. Things are about to get very heated up. :D

This chapter was **beta-read** by the awesome Daemon. You, my dear, rock! All remaining mistakes are my own.

Enjoy!

* * *

 _The first thing on my mind_

o ~ o

 _When the loud ping resounded, announcing that the lift had reached its destination, and its doors slid open, a young redhead exited cheerfully. "Lucifer?" she called out in a sing-song voice and strutted light-footed_ _ly_ _into the open living area. The sound of her shoes tapping on the floor echoed through the room, and she stopped abruptly and looked around: Half of the furniture was covered by white sheets with some more of them lying on the ground, and the place was only illuminated by the light of the morning sun that shone through the large windows. It looked deserted, and the strange atmosphere startled her: especially the silence. But then, she shrugged off the queasy feeling. His penthouse had always been very quiet in the early hours of the day when she'd visited him back then. So why should this have changed just after half the year she'd been gone? And Lucifer himself had told her that after she'd done her backpack trip around Europe he would be here, waiting for her. Maybe he knew she'd arrived today and hid to scare her, she assumed and nodded to herself. This pretty much sounded like Lucifer, she thought and shrugged her shoulders. Making her way over to the piano, she placed her purse on its cover and slowly loosened the ribbons of her jacket she'd bought in Paris, especially for this moment. With a wide smile on her lips, she strolled over to the bedroom, seductively calling his name again, "Lucifer! I'm ba-ack." Nothing came in reply, and she stopped again. The queasy feeling was back inside of her and she almost was about to turn around and flee the place, when something held her back. It was like a little voice that, without using any words, poked her curiosity, and so she took one foot after the other further towards the bedroom._

 _She stretched her neck to see if it was deserted as well and caught sight of a figure lying on the bed. She grinned to herself and sighed in relief. 'Guess, I need to tickle him awake, first,' she thought and with several quick steps, she was at the entrance of the room. When she saw what actually was lying in front of her, a piercing scream left her lungs, rais_ _ing_ _the roof._

 _As fast as her high heels let her, she ran back to her purse, grabbed the phone and called 911. "There's a body here!" she frantically cried into the receiver when a responder answered her call, her face as panic-stricken as she felt. "In LUX... the penthouse... Lucifer Morningstar's apartment," she stammered the needed information and clutched the little device tighter when her sweaty hands started to tremble. "A body!" she screamed again, reaffirming the words from the other end of the line. Then suddenly her panic-fuelled expression turned blank and she stared perplexed and lost into space while she listened to the voice from the speaker. "I don't know! There is blood everywhere," she answered, reflexively raising her free arm in despair, and pleaded imploringly, "Please come!"_

 _The tears that had welled up in her eyes at the sight now ran freely down her cheeks and she snuffled loudly, wiped away their remnants, and wrapped her arm tightly around herself. "What?... No!" it burst out of her. Her facial features showed disgust and confusion when she opposed the other's question, appalled, "No, I did not check for a pulse!"_

 _After attentively listening some more, she turned around, her eyes filled with fright when she looked back towards the bedroom. She silently shook her head, her whole body refusing the responder's demand. "Please don't make me do this," she begged and, once again, her fingers started to tremble. She whined, but still went back to the bedroom. When she spotted the figure on the bed again, another appalled cry left her throat, and she hastily took a step back. The trembling spread out all over her body and the responder soothed her from afar. After a moment, she plucked up her courage and, albeit grudgingly, walked up to the bed and looked down at the figure that was barely recognisable as human. "Please don't make me do this," she repeated her plea and shuddered with distaste. Further assuring words were sent over the line and eventually, she complied and bent forward. Her index and middle finger outstretched, she reached down towards the throat, feeling for a pulse._

 _Suddenly the figure stirred at the touch and took an exerted breath._

 _The young redhead screamed her lungs out. "The body moved! The body moved!" she screamed further into the phone, her words blurred with cries as she sank down against the wall, shaking, crying. "She's alive," she blubbered out in a hushed tone. Hot tears streamed down her face as she begged again, "Please come fast."_

o ~ o

Chloe was dreaming again. The same dream she had for the last 50 days: Pain, fear, desperation, more pain, and then...

She woke with a start, took a deep breath to fill her lungs up to their capacity, and then panted heavily like a steam engine. Her wide-open eyes stared at the ceiling. Her body was stark and stiff, refusing from moving the slightest bit. "Mummy?" a drowsy voice sounded next to her. She wanted to answer, wanted to turn her head, but she couldn't. It was as if an invisible weight was pressing down on her, matching the horror she once had endured in real life.

Trixie was startled and quickly sat up beside her. Full of worry for her mother, she assured her soothingly, "Mummy, it's OK. You're fine!" She wrapped her arms around her and gently caressed her back. "Shush, it's alright mum. You're safe. No one's gonna hurt you," she whispered into her ear and hugged tighter.

Slowly Chloe came down from her shock. The fright in her bones ceased and eventually, she felt her limbs obey her will again. With shaking arms, she hugged her daughter back, snuggled her face into her child's soft hair and took a deep breath. Silently she told herself that she was in her daughter's room, that everything was fine, and that the nightmare was nothing but that, and finally, she calmed down. "Thanks, babe," she whispered and sighed with relief when her voice came out steadily. "Sorry for waking you up, honey," she apologised profoundly and sat up. She gently shoved her child away from herself and turned around, about to get out of the bed, when two tiny arms clasped around her, holding her back.

"You don't need to leave. I've enough room for the both of us," Trixie assured and released her with one arm to pat down on the pillow, gesturing her mother to lie back.

"Monkey, I don't want to wake you up a second time," Chloe gently refused and softly ruffled her daughter's hair as she explained, "You've got school tomorrow. You need your sleep."

"But we've already slept for six hours," Trixie contradicted and pointed at the clock on her bedside table. "Look!"

Chloe turned around and eyed the time in disbelief. It was true, they did indeed sleep for six hours. The first time since _that night_ that she'd slept that long. She didn't even need to take medication first. Pleasantly surprised, she turned her head back to her daughter and flashed her a relieved smile. "Well, I guess I can stay in your bed, then," she replied and quickly set her alarm so they wouldn't oversleep when they had to get up in three hours.

Trixie smiled widely at her and skidded back on the bed, making more room for her mother to properly lie down. When Chloe was back under the blanket, with Trixie snuggled up close to her, she silently stared at the ceiling. Her mind still wondered about the sudden amount of sleep when the even breaths of her daughter against her neck lulled her back to sleep and she drifted off.

/-/

A loud knock on the door made Linda look up from behind her desk. Her lips instantly stretched into a smile in anticipation of the time she could spend with her friend, even if it was under such terrible circumstances. "Come in," she called loudly, and when Chloe opened the door, her lips stretched further.

"Good morning," Chloe greeted her, returning the smile; although not as wide as that of Linda's. "How are you?" she began her usual chat.

"I'm good, thanks!" Linda replied and stood up from her desk, walked around it, and took a seat on her chair in front of the couch. She waited until Chloe had sat down and had made herself comfortable before she asked eagerly, "How's the new case?"

Chloe nodded at her and mumbled a low "good". She pursed her lips to a thin line, pressing a smile onto them while her eyes wandered aimlessly across the floor. She didn't want to look up. She knew exactly that eye contact made Linda ask another question, and today she wasn't in the mood to talk about herself. There was so much in her head right now, but at the same time, it felt as if her mind was as empty as the universe.

Linda tilted her head to the side and attentively watched her friend. Chloe seemed distressed and uncomfortable considering the expression on her face and posture, and this was the complete opposite of what she'd expected her to be today. After she got the call from her friend's superior the other day, she'd thought Chloe would be excited and enthusiastic about finally getting a case, and therewith taking another step back to her life. The talks they had had about this during their sessions were still vividly in her mind. Chloe had insisted on getting treated the same way as before the assault, by her and everyone else, but especially by the people in her workplace. And it had made Chloe furious that everyone wanted to wrap her up in cotton wool. Linda had thought that by giving her OK to a seemingly easy case, this would give Chloe back the confidence in herself and that she would start to open up a bit more so that they could begin to work through her trauma. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe it was too early, and the case was overwhelming her. She waited another moment, hoping her friend would eventually start talking herself, but nothing came.

The silence that had fallen between them made Chloe feel even more uncomfortable than she already was. She took several even breaths to try and get her nerves back under control, but they were so raw at the moment that it felt like thousands of fire ants running up and down her skin. Her hands were now drenched in sweat and she quickly rubbed them together, trying to get the dampness off. Out of reflex, her fingers went up along her arms, beneath the long sleeves of her sweater, and she scratched across the skin; the only relief she could get to soothe her nerves, and stifle any potential panic. Leaning against the backrest, she took a deep breath and glanced up at Linda. ' _Damn it!_ ' it shot through her head when their eyes met. But before Linda was able to form a question, Chloe suddenly blurted out, "Lucifer is back!" She sighed nervously, and all at once the locked-up emotions about this little piece of reality broke free inside of her and scuttled through her body.

Linda stared at her friend with wide eyes and a half-open mouth, her mind blank, her body stiff. That information came sudden, and completely unexpected. Blinking several times to test if her body was still complying with her will, she swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and then shifted around in her chair. Wow! Lucifer was back again. Finally! A rush of joy spread out within her and she wanted to squeal with glee but contained herself. It had been really hard for Chloe after he'd disappeared so abruptly, and seeing her now, huddled up against the back of the couch, her eyes fixed on an invisible spot on the ground, her skin pale, and her body completely motionless, she knew that this really took a toll on her friend. "Well," she started softly, carefully probing the waters. When Chloe looked up at her, she inquired calmly, "How do you feel about that?"

That was the question Chloe had asked herself over and over again. And up to now, she didn't really have an answer. She knew how she felt since he came back. The emotions were very much alive inside of her. But they were so many and so contradicting towards each other, that she couldn't figure out what the most prominent one of them was. Did she want him back in her life? Or did she want him to stay gone? Deciding that there were two feelings that pretty much summed up her dilemma, she eventually answered, "I want to hug him..."

"Oh, that's good!" Linda affirmed with a nod and smiled at her. Expressing the wish for close contact with another person, especially a male one, was a major step in the right direction.

"...until he stops breathing," Chloe added, and looked back to the ground, sighing deeply.

Linda was taken aback. "Well." She halted and cleared her throat. Considering that it was Lucifer she was talking about, this feeling was very much justified. But still, she was her therapist, she couldn't just give her patient the advice to go and give vent to her emotions. "That's definitely something you shouldn't do," she advised her gently and hoped her face didn't reveal her true thoughts. Sighing to herself and smiling encouragingly at the woman opposite of her, she asked, sounding curious, "Why that?"

Chloe took a deep breath and then exhaled the air through her pursed lips. Her eyes were locked on her hands which she was rubbing against each other again, trying to get rid of the new layer of sweat. She thought about the question, ordering her thoughts, and then answered in a hushed tone, "He was gone for so long." Her voice sounded calm and sad, not in the slightest bit angry or frustrated, and for a moment Chloe asked herself why she wasn't. She should be furious at him for leaving her or at least outraged that he came back to mess around with her again. But right now she felt nothing of that. Needing another moment to further sort her thoughts, she eventually continued with the same calm and sad tone, "All this time I wished for him to come back... and he didn't." She paused again and took another breath to soothe the distressing feelings that stirred her. Her eyes glanced across the table, and then she went on, briefly looking up at Linda, "I've finally accepted that he's gone. I've let go of him completely. And all of a sudden, there he is! Back at my doorstep. Back at my precinct." She lowered her head again when her lids got heavy by the teardrops that had gathered up in the corners of her eyes. With a voice that was barely above a whisper, she added, "He's even a part of my case." Her lips started to tremble and she quickly wiped her eyes dry with her sleeves and snivelled audibly. "It's like he's a ghost that's haunting me and I don't know what to do." After another moment of silence that had fallen between them, she mentioned, hoping to raise the mood a little, "He drives me crazy." She tried to flash her friend a smile with those words, but it quickly died down when new tears welled up in her eyes.

Linda took a deep breath and silently nodded. It was very hard to watch her friend suffering like that; to suddenly get confronted with something, or rather someone, from her past, that she'd finally put behind herself. Even for a fully emotionally stable person this would be something very distressing and could throw them off track. And for Chloe... in her current state of mind... Linda couldn't even imagine how heavy this must weigh on her heart. "Do you want me to talk to him?" she asked her with the gentlest voice that was in her.

Chloe knew right away that this wasn't her therapist asking. This was her friend who offered her to help. She shook her head quickly, but all the more determined. "No!" she verbally supported her disapproval and added insistently, "I neither want him to know about these sessions, nor what he did to me, nor what..." Her voice failed. She inhaled and once more tried to get the words out. This time, she couldn't even open her mouth wide enough. Squinting her eyes shut to call herself back to order, she shook her head, and then, with pleading eyes, stared directly at Linda.

Linda sighed and gave her the non-verbal assurance that she'd understood what Chloe wanted to say. Even after those seven weeks, with three of them supported by the consultations, she still wasn't able to talk about it, to even voice it. Maybe it was good that Lucifer was back. These two had a connection beyond anyone's understanding. And maybe this was the reason he'd showed up again. She knew Lucifer. He was persistent. And when Chloe closed up, he wouldn't stop probing her until he had answers. This way, she might be able to face all those feelings and thoughts she'd locked away. Maybe this was his purpose. That she couldn't ignore the ghost any longer that haunted her but had to deal with it. Maybe that was the step she needed to take to finally come clean with herself... and her life. Hoping to engage Chloe in another conversation, Linda asked warmly, "Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

Carefully, Chloe shook her head and answered quietly, "I need to get to the precinct." Feeling confidence after her voice came out steadily and clearly, she quickly added, "I was already late yesterday. I don't want this to happen again today, and you know L.A.'s streets."

Linda smiled, nodded assuringly and stood up. She knew this was just another cover-up for her to avoid speaking about her feelings, but she decided to let her get away with it. Opening her arms, she asked in a hopeful manner, "Goodbye hug?"

Chloe pursed her lips and hesitated, feeling uncomfortable about denying her friend once again. "Maybe next time?" she suggested low-voiced and flashed her a smile. When her friend's sympathetic "sure" resounded, she sighed with relief and stepped towards the exit. Her hand was already on the doorknob when she halted for a moment to lock away all her feelings and distressing thoughts. Then, she opened the door and left the room with a warm "Goodbye, Linda" sent into her direction.

"Goodbye, Chloe," Linda replied, equally cordially before Chloe had closed the door completely.

Outside the office, Chloe took another deep breath. She was glad that no one else was sitting in the waiting area right now and that she could use the moment to further get a grip on herself. Even though the talk to Linda had only been so short, it already had worn her out, and she couldn't wait to get to the precinct and distract her mind.

With several large steps, she was at the lift and pressed the button to call the little cubicle. Barely a moment had passed when the familiar sound already announced its arrival, its doors sliding open. What greeted her, however, was something she'd rather missed out entirely today.

"Oh, hello Chloe," Lucifer exclaimed staggered. He was absolutely baffled to suddenly see her standing in front of him and didn't even realise his slip.

Chloe swallowed down her own shock. As if on autopilot she mumbled a quick "Morning" into his direction, turned around, and hastened to the door to the staircase. She gripped its handle, ripped the door open, and rushed down the stairs, taking two at a time.

Lucifer stared after her vanishing figure, completely gobsmacked. He hadn't even been able to form the question in his mind to ask her why she was there in the first place before she was out of his sight again. For a moment, he wondered if he'd imagined her, but the door that still slapped against its frame like an abating pendulum assured him that she had been very real. She'd fled him even faster than those people who'd seen his true form, he noticed and quickly looked down at his hands, reconfirming himself that he was in his human form. Heaving a sigh, he shrugged off the moment, and the invoked emotions, and continued his walk to Linda's office.

When a loud knock resounded again, Linda quickly stood up from her seat and rushed to the door, shouting a delighted "Come in!" Maybe Chloe had changed her mind and decided to talk, it ran through her mind. Hopefully! She was only one step away from the door as it swung open, revealing no one less than the devil himself, startling her for a second. "Lucifer!" she squealed in surprise and instantly opened her arms to greet him.

"Hello, Linda," he replied equally delighted and embraced her firmly. "At least you know how to properly welcome me back," he praised her after he'd let go again.

Linda tilted her head to the side and stared at him, half smirking and half shaking her head in a rebuking manner. She stepped back and gestured him to take a seat on the couch while she sat down on her chair. "Speaking of 'welcoming back'. Where have you been?" she inquired curiously.

"Las Vegas," Lucifer answered with a cheeky smile. Raising his hand, he added smugly, "And yes, I did the whole package."

Had she been a cartoon figure, her eyes would have rolled around on the floor by now. Totally flabbergasted by that unexpected insight, she stared back and forth between him and the ring on his finger. "You're married?" she asked after she found her voice back, still not able to believe it. "How-" she cut herself off, and rephrased her word to the more important question that shot directly into her mind, "Does Chloe know?"

 _'Argh!'_ Lucifer huffed and rolled his eyes. Couldn't she at least congratulate him before letting pop the Chloe-question? "Yes, she _does_ know!" he answered, rather miffed. "And speaking of," he reused her words. "Why was she here?" He straightened himself on the couch, and expectantly looked at her.

"Sorry, that's private," Linda answered politely and leant back in her chair.

Lucifer grinned at her and chuckled lowly. He knew exactly how he could make her talk. "Come on," he muttered under his breath, flashed her a smile and leant forward to stare at her with his alluring eyes. "I won't tell her if you don't," he purred with a mischievous smirk.

Linda quickly shirked her gaze from him. _'No!'_ she mentally ordered herself to remain in control over herself. Keeping her eyes closed until his effect on her vanished, she took a breath and then looked back at him, shaking her head, and friendly, but very firmly, denied again, "I won't talk to you about my other patients!"

That was all he needed to know for the moment, it shot through his mind, and Lucifer leant himself against the backrest, hiding the surprise he got from her answer. Why was Chloe in therapy? He put on his everything-is-fine-mask, while the wheels in his head spun at a rapid speed: Had it anything to do with his leaving? After all, they really were close before his departure. Maybe it had recalled some – how was Linda always calling it – suppressed anxiety? Did his sudden departure cause the same effect on her like when her father got killed? Deciding that these questions had to be answered at a different time, he shook himself back to the presence and stated nonchalantly, "Well, then maybe you could help me with something related to her. Since I've been back, the Detective wasn't quite happy about it. Do you have some advice how I can get back into her good graces?" he asked cautiously, silently hoping that Linda would provide him with a better answer than Ella. In the beginning, he'd even considered leaving their current state of relationship as it was. At least until he'd solved that problem with his parents. But he couldn't deny as well that the tension between them was something that started to vex him. Now more than ever after he'd found out that something was troubling her.

/-/

Chloe covered her eyes with her hands in frustration, trying to rub the fatigue from them. For an hour now, she was sitting in front of her computer, going back and forth between her notes and the facts presented on the screen without the slightest results. She was dying to finally go back to that church and investigate on site. Maybe they would find some evidence they'd missed the last time, or a witness could show up; anything than just sitting here on her chair and twiddling her thumbs. She turned her upper body around and sent another glance towards her boss's office. Dan was still inside, discussing something with the Lieutenant. What was so important that it couldn't have waited till after lunch? It bugged her that she was so dependent on other people; that she couldn't go alone to the crime scenes, but had to have a babysitter. Huffing out the air from her lungs in vexation, she turned back around... and received the next jeremiad!

Out of all people in this city, Lucifer was, once again, moseying into the precinct. And he was directly heading for her! She quickly ducked behind her monitor, hoping he hadn't seen her. But when she heard footsteps coming closer, stopping next to her, and suddenly felt someone bending right into her personal space, cheerfully voicing "my, my, are we busy already?" she knew, she was screwed. "What do you want, Lucifer?" she asked in a passive-aggressive tone, and turned her head to him, glaring at him with narrowed eyes which made very clear that she was anything but delighted to see him again so soon, while she leant back in her chair, bringing some distance between their bodies.

Lucifer straightened himself and took a seat on the desk next to her, his cheerful mood not ceased in the slightest. "Just wanted to know how the case is going," he answered her nonchalantly, folded his arms, and flashed her a smile. Not hearing an immediate reply from her, he went on, "I actually wanted to ask you this morning at our little encounter-" he trailed off when he saw her getting ready to counter – something unpleasant by the look of her – and quickly interjected, "Now, now! No need to scold me, Chloe. I know about the importance of mutual trust between a therapist and their client. And therefore, I won't ask you what you wanted at Linda's." Allowing himself a moment of silence to give weight on the importance of what he was about to say, he added, "Because I value you as an individual and respect your wishes," he recited Linda's words, and flashed her a complaisant smile.

Chloe straightened in the chair, making herself as tall as possible, and copied his folded arms. She stared at him sceptically, waiting if he'd find his own mistake, and then, getting confirmed at his usual lack of ability, retorted sarcastically, "It would be nice if you'd _really_ respect my wishes. Or why are you still calling me by my first name?"

He voiced a silent "Oh," and his eyes briefly turned to the side while he mentally went through his monologue again. Giving himself a well-meant silent rebuke at his clanger, he fixed his sight back on her and answered with a honeyed tone, "My apologies, Detective. It won't happen again."

 _'As if!'_ Chloe thought, and sullenly eyed him out of the corners of her eyes when she turned back to her screen. The sheer presence of him next to her made her nervous again. Bits of the talk with Linda came back into her mind and she knew she needed to get him to leave as quickly as possible. Deciding to give him something so he was pleased, she informed him, "I won't tell you anything about the case, except you're currently not on the suspects list. So it would be advised for you to go now."

"That's good to know," Lucifer replied, flashing her a warm smile. "But I assumed that I wasn't even on that list in the first place since you'd abstained from putting handcuffs on me," he added with a smug grin.

Chloe shrugged her shoulders. "Would have been a waste of energy," she mumbled to herself and then, a little louder, went on, "They miraculously seem to fall off your wrists as soon as they're on." The queasiness inside of her increased, and she turned to him, addressing him in an overly friendly tone, "Do you want me to walk you out of the precinct?"

Lucifer sighed. For a moment, he thought about simply granting her the wish, but this wasn't the reason he'd come here in the first place. He needed to make sure his mother wasn't interfering with his plans and, therefore, decided that Chloe had to bear with him a little longer. Putting on his cheerful tone, he answered, "No, I want you to tell me if Charlotte Richards is a suspect, and if so: Did you already talk to her? And, and this one I'd rather prefer, is she already in custody?"

Chloe squinted her eyes in annoyance and her tone became rougher when she countered sternly, "As I already told you: That's none of your business! If you have nothing else to do than to pester me, then you better leave. Now!"

"This is really important, Chloe!" he whined and leant forward.

She quickly leant back, looking daggers at him. "So much about respecting my wishes!" she hissed angrily.

 _'Damn it!'_ it shot through his head and he took a deep breath to sort his thoughts. Straightening himself again, he put back on his everything-is-fine-mask, flashed her an apologetic smile, and started, "Listen-"

"No, you listen!" she sharply cut him off and rose to her full height. "The precinct isn't your little playground where you can come and go, and let hang out the spare-time-cop whenever it pleases you. Understood?" she huffed, miffed. Going one better, she warned him gravely, "And if you still need to think about the meaning of ' _stop badgering me'_ then you might want to see how a cell looks from the inside."

Lucifer narrowed his eyes, irritated at her little outburst. Keeping himself from shouting as well, he informed her through gritted teeth, "You might want to know that there is a witness who'd seen Charlotte on the backside of the church the day before yesterday, arguing with a man who's most probably our victim."

Chloe stared at him, surprised. That was a turn she hadn't expected at all. Not knowing what to reply, she glanced around and got aware of all the eyes that had been on them and were now hastily turning away, pretending to be busy with work. She sheepishly gazed at the ground, put a strand of hair behind her ear, and then folded her arms in front of her chest, and slowly looked up at him. Her sight fixed itself on his shirt and the jacket above on which he just closed a button. With a low, rueful tone she asked, "How'd you find out?"

He smoothed down the fabric of his clothes and inhaled shortly to bring his mood back to normal before he answered, "If you just had let me explain, then I could have told you that I already did some research on my own yesterday evening when you decided to call it a day."

She noticed the scolding tone in his voice but decided to not jump on that train. There was a new lead in her case, and she was glad to get the information, despite him being the messenger. Or was it rather because of him? Quickly pushing that thought to the back of her head, she slightly nodded and announced decisively, "Alright, tell me the name and address. I'll follow it up."

Lucifer shook his head in disagreement. "No, dear. He only agreed to meet you when I'm there, too," he calmly informed her and further specified, "In about an hour, actually. That's why I came to you."

Her mood instantly changed back to that of annoyance. "And you couldn't tell me that right away because?" she countered, nettled, and stared at him reproachfully.

"Would you have listened to me?" he retorted and huffed in anger.

 _'Probably not!'_ it directly shot through her head, but she kept herself from stating that out loud. Instead, she paraphrased, "Well, considering that you've been a suspect in the same murder case and insist that it's Mrs Richards who'd done it, I've most probably would have been suspicious about the truth content." As she saw him ready to counter something, she raised her finger, stopping him right away, and added assuringly, "But I would have followed the lead nevertheless."

"Are you implying that I lie?" he asked aghast when she finally allowed him to speak.

Chloe shrugged her shoulders. She knew he didn't lie. But she also knew how this whole thing looked to someone who didn't know him like she did. "Well," she started, and carefully chose her words when she elucidated, "The way you acted the past day, it really seems like you have a personal vendetta against that woman."

' _Guilty on that part,_ ' Lucifer instantly thought and tilted his head. He looked around the room before he nodded at her and halfway confirmed, "Very well. But I didn't lie to you," he quickly added, pointing it out.

"So it's true?" asked Chloe and stared at him flabbergasted, unsure whether the words and the way he reacted really meant what she thought they mean. "You only want to ' _help me_ ', because you have a bone to pick with that woman?"

"Rather a whole skeleton, but yes," he admitted smugly.

Chloe stared at him, angry and dumbfounded. "Lucifer, you can't just use the precinct to get your revenge on that woman!"

Lucifer was taken aback by her harsh tone. He couldn't understand why she was angry at him so suddenly. After all, his mum also was the reason her father's killer got free. He quickly shrugged off that feeling, and probed instead, "Do you want to solve the case or not?"

Chloe stared at him, furious. Now that she got the confirmation that him being around her again had nothing to do with her or the case, but only because he had a personal interest in it, she didn't want to work with him. But if she'd say no, this lead would stay uninvestigated, and then she wouldn't be anything better than him. The victim needed justice. And this was more important than her personal feelings. Reluctantly, she nodded her answer and turned around, grabbing for her jacket, before she followed him out.

/-/

Chloe shifted impatiently from one foot to the other. They were standing in the back area of the church for half an hour by now, and she would rather look inside to further investigate than wait for someone who most probably wasn't showing up anyway. "You sure he'll meet us here?" she checked with Lucifer again, her sight fixed on the alley in front of them, her brows furrowed with concern.

Lucifer took another drag from his cigarette before he dropped the stump down to the ground and trod it out. When he looked back up, he assured her confidently, "Don't worry, he'll come."

"How'd you know?" she countered, half sceptical, half reproaching, and turned her head to him.

His reply was a wide grin sent in her direction and his arm raised holding a bag full of burgers. "We've got something he wants," he stated cockily. His grin stretched even wider when she only huffed out some air and turned her attention back to the alley. "Like to have some chit-chat until he comes?" he offered after a moment, the hope for a normal conversation with her swung in his voice.

Chloe shook her head, not deigning to look at him as she countered coldly, "I told you, no private talk between us. That was the deal, remember?"

Lucifer nodded slightly and took in a deep breath, letting out his chagrin when he exhaled again. Bloody hell! It was like he was riding a rollercoaster with her. As soon as he had the impression that they were finally on a decent level, she got all tied up again, and they were back to square one. He asked himself why he was doing all this. After all, if he'd learnt anything from the millennia down in hell, then that fighting on two different fronts would eventually end in losing the war altogether. And he mustn't lose! On neither side!

Suddenly, a voice piped up from behind them, bringing Lucifer out of his thoughts. "Hey. Don't turn around!" it whispered.

Out of reflex, Chloe was about to do exactly that, but Lucifer quickly held her back. His sudden grip on her arm startled her and she hastily brushed off his hand, took half a step away from him and hissed quietly, "Don't touch me!"

"He won't show up when you turn around," Lucifer calmly explained to her, keeping under control his own annoyance at her tone and shrugging off the surprise he felt at her odd behaviour. Was she really only pissed at him? His thoughts were once again interrupted by the sound of metal scrubbing against metal, and he exhaled a relieved sigh, knowing that the guy finally crawled out.

Before Chloe could reply something, the voice behind them came up again. "Alright, you can turn around now." They both did as told, and Chloe found herself staring at a man who could easily have been her age, if not the visible malnutrition and marks from a very long life on the streets had let him grow old rapidly. She quickly looked around, wondering from where the man could have emerged, and, according to the heard noises, found a ventilation shaft on the ground as the only reasonable explanation. She turned her attention back to him and asked, "Who are you?" She kept her voice soft to make sure that she didn't unnecessarily frighten the man, who was obviously uncomfortable in the presence of other people.

"I'm Stephen," he answered shyly and sent several glances towards the bag Lucifer was holding.

Lucifer smiled, pleased that the homeless man finally showed up and brought an end to the tensed atmosphere between him and the Detective. He stretched out his arm, offering him the bag of food, and prompted cheerfully, "Go on, tell the Detective what you've told me."

Stephen quickly grabbed the bag, opened it, withdrew the first burger from inside and hastily bit into it. His mouth was still half-filled with the remains when he replied, "I saw the dead man and a woman fighting here."

Chloe grabbed her phone, searched the pictures for one that showed the victim and then held it in front of him for confirmation. "Do you mean this man?" Stephen nodded eagerly and took another bite of his burger. She lowered her phone again, searched it some more for a picture of Charlotte Richards. She knew she had one somewhere. Before she found any, however, Lucifer beat her to it.

He held up his phone, asking the man, "Was it this woman?" Stephen nodded again, his mouth too stuffed for him to voice the answer. Lucifer turned the phone to Chloe to show her that he had identified his mum as the woman.

She innerly gave herself a high-five. Finally, they had somebody who'd confirmed that this woman had something to do with the victim. Quickly nodding her thanks to Lucifer, she turned her attention back to the witness. "When did you see them?" she asked further.

It took a moment for Stephen to clear his mouth. Then he harrumphed and answered, telling her the whole story of what he'd seen, "I was here as always, sleeping, and then woke up to a woman shouting at someone. I looked up and saw them. Then they were talking to each other. Quietly. He hissed something. She hissed something. Then she scolded him, loudly warning him to better not waste her time. And he replied that he can show her. They both went inside the church. It took a while, but then, she came back out without him. She had something in her hand, though. I think it was a camera. I waited until she left and then got out and looked inside the church. Then I saw him," he ended and pointed towards the phone in Chloe's hand, indicating that he meant the victim.

Getting the suspicion that he might have also been the mysterious caller, she calmly inquired, "Did you call the police?"

He nodded, verbally adding, "But it was already too late."

"And what did you do then?" Lucifer tossed in, curious, and bent his head to the side, attentively staring at him.

Stephen looked at him and stated in a matter-of-fact tone, "I hid."

Chloe took a low breath and pursed her lips to a thin line. On the outside she was calm and carefully scribbled down the details the man had said, on the inside, however, she jumped for joy. "Can you come to the precinct and make a statement about what you've seen?" she asked sanguinely.

Stephen vehemently shook his head. He hunched his shoulders and replied in a hushed tone, "Too many police."

"You don't need to be afraid of them, I promise," Chloe assured him soothingly and sent him a warm smile.

Again, Stephen shook his head. "Police don't like me. And I don't like them. They are mean to me whenever they see me. I don't want to talk to them," he explained, making clear that this was off the table.

 _'Fuck!_ ' it shot through her head and she already saw her case crumbling down in front of her inner eye. But giving up wasn't an option for her. Still, she knew these type of people. When they didn't want to talk, they would keep shut. So, forcing him to make a statement was out of bounds. She needed him to cooperate, and therefore, she needed him to trust her. Putting on a confident facial expression, she calmly pointed out, "But you've just talked to me."

Stephen nodded firmly, briefly looked to Lucifer, and then replied, "He told me that you're different. That you're nice and that I can trust you."

Forcing down the warm tingle that spread out inside her stomach at the unexpected insight, she suggested, "Well, could I come back later with another Detective? He's also very nice and trustworthy," she quickly mentioned, before continuing, "and you make your statement here?" She gave him time to think about it, and when his reply came in a slow nod, she checked with him, "Are you here tomorrow morning?"

"I'm always here," he answered her and added in a whisper, "I live here, but please don't tell anyone."

Nodding her assurance, Chloe smiled at him. "Thank you for telling me all that." She watched the man nodding again before he reached into the bag and retrieved his next burger, munching it away. Leaving him to himself, she turned around and started walking out of the alley, her thoughts spinning widely in her head.

"Where are you going now?" Lucifer asked nonchalantly, bringing her out of her mind again.

She stopped and turned to him. "Back to the precinct. Have to recheck something," she shortly informed him, but couldn't stop her curiosity from also voicing, "Why?"

He shrugged his shoulders and briefly looked around the area, letting it seem as if the thought he had on his mind since this morning had just popped up. When he turned back to her, he casually suggested, "It's nearly noon. Care to grab a quick bite? My treat," he offered and expectantly stared at her, silently hoping that she'd agree.

Chloe took a deep breath and looked at her watch, innerly debating about her answer: True, it was already noon and she hadn't eaten anything today yet. But she didn't really intend to spend more time with him than necessary. She'd told herself so this morning. And changing her mind now was like turning her back on herself. She still was angry at him! But on the other hand, he had helped her take a step forward in her case. And the whole time here, he really behaved well. Added to this, his statements from this morning had left some questions she still needed him to answer. And where else was he more talkative than while eating? Plus, he was paying! Not that this made up for his actions in any way anytime soon. Concluding to herself, she silently agreed and replied him with a firm nod.

Lucifer flashed her a delighted smile and walked her back to her car. "Come on then, I'll show you the way," he told her cheerfully and waited until she was on her side of the vehicle before he got inside the car as well.

/-/

At the restaurant, Chloe was picking at her food. She was hungry, and the food looked delicious, but somehow, she couldn't bring herself to fill her fork and take a full bite. She sighed. She had to eat something. She'd already lost ten pounds within the past weeks because she couldn't bring herself to eat, and she didn't want to look like a skeleton.

"Is the food not good?" Lucifer asked interestedly, and stared at her, hiding his concern for her behind curious looking eyes.

She briefly looked up. When their eyes met, she hastily lowered her sight back to the plate in front of her and assured him, "It's good."

Silently putting his cutlery aside, he supported his elbows on the table, rested his head on his hands, and countered, "Then why aren't you eating?" He could literally see how annoyance spread out across her face, even when she wasn't looking at him, and he quickly appeased her, "Listen, Detective. Apparently, we can stand and sit next to each other for more than an hour without biting each other's head off. Why don't we try it with a little conversation?" He watched her attentively, how she put her fork away and looked up at him, irked, but also with a touch of understanding. "I can see that there's something on your mind, so why don't you talk?" he probed her further.

Chloe huffed, miffed and vexed that he could read her so easily. "How did you find him?" she asked straightforwardly, and quickly added in a warning tone, "And don't tell me you can't tell me."

He lowered his arms, straightened himself, and openly answered, "I was at the church yesterday, looking for further hints about who the killer could be. As you might know, in the back area there is an entrance to former catacombs. That's where I've found him. Asleep. I asked him if he'd seen anything, and after some persuasion, he'd told me what he told you today."

"And how did this _persuasion_ look?" she asked further and a concerned frown settled down on her forehead.

Lucifer sighed, but then stated in the same calm tone, "I offered him two twenty-dollar notes. He took one of them. Who knew that homeless people are less greedy than people who have everything," he cheekily tossed in with a wide grin on his lips. Coming back to the main point, he went on, "He told me to bring burgers for today." When he heard Chloe's disgruntled huff, he looked at her, baffled and added, sounding hurt, "What? I didn't do anything illegal if that's what you think."

"No!" she quickly assured him and shoved her plate to the side to lean her arms onto the table. She dropped her head into her hands, rubbing her forehead for a bit before she straightened back and replied discontentedly, "But that's exactly what will break our neck." Seeing his perplexed stare, she explained, "Yesterday, I went to Charlotte Richards, telling her that we don't have any witnesses. She replied something nasty and I, well," she halted, feeling uncomfortable to admit it, but went on nevertheless, circumscribing it, "I might have said something that could count as a threat."

"And?" he asked blankly and shrugged his shoulders, not seeing any reason to be pessimistic about that minor detail.

"And, you're the only other suspect," she completed and leant back in her chair, folding her arms and pursing her lips in frustration.

Lucifer stared at her, confused. This woman didn't make any sense anymore. "I thought I'm no suspect any longer!" he replied, staggered, his voice raised an octave.

"You aren't!" she firmly assured and took a deep breath to call herself back to order before she added in a normal tone, "Not for me at least. But if it goes to court, Charlotte Richards can very easily argue that you, as the only other suspect, went to the church, bribed a man to falsely testify that he'd seen her, to get yourself off the hook."

"But that's not the case!" he angrily objected. Why did she act this way so suddenly? Looking at the black side of everything. They had a witness, for crying out loud. She should feel excited about it. And instead of contradicting him on every word he says, she should be off to his mum, arresting her. It was as if she wanted his mum to get away with it; to get away with murder. And his Chloe never did this before!

Chloe sighed again. She understood that he was upset. But she couldn't deny the facts, either. "Lucifer, you openly said in the precinct that you run a personal vendetta against that woman," she calmly reminded him. "That doesn't look very good for you."

"Since when do you care about looks?" he countered, not hiding the disappointment in his tone.

"Since not only my own batch is at stake if I screw up!" she answered, her voice raised in anger. She took a deep breath and briefly looked down, calling herself back to order, before she turned her attention back to him.

Lucifer shook his head, not wanting to believe the words she'd just said. Why had she changed so much? He didn't see anything left of the woman he... He quickly cut off the thought before it could spin further. Because admitting the word that was in his heart, even if it was just silently, would inevitably lead to her endangerment. He had to keep his feelings for her locked away. He had to keep his distance, at least emotionally. Because physically, he wasn't able to. He'd tried! And look, what he'd become. Tattered by the rage about his father's sick game and his mother's betrayal, and by the longing for her: the woman who was selfless to a nauseating degree, always put others first, and always put on a brave mask, even if something broke her heart... The woman who'd never let a killer get free just because someone's career was at risk! it suddenly shot through his head, and the realisation made him angry as he recalled her recent words. "Who are you?" he asked, enraged. "The Chloe I know doesn't care about careers or statuses when a killer is on the loose! The Chloe I know solves her cases to bring justice to the victims! Not only because it is the right thing to do, but because you know how it feels to lose a loved one and don't want to load this grief onto others!" he reproached her disappointedly.

"That Chloe doesn't exist any longer!" she hissed back, angry about his words and the hurt they caused in her. After all, it hadn't been her choice to change...

"Why?" he wondered at a loss, his voice barely above a whisper.

In this moment, Chloe wanted to tell him. She really did. She wanted to tell him the reason she got so angry sometimes that she freaked out about nothing. She wanted to tell him why she was so scared and sad all the time. And moreover, she wanted to tell him because deep down inside of her she wanted him to understand her. Swallowing down the lump in her throat and taking a deep breath, she slowly started in a hushed tone, "After you left-"

"Right!" He abruptly cut her off and chuckled scornfully. He should have known. He didn't want to believe it, but her words were the proof that in the end, everyone would be against him. "Just _use me_ as an excuse to behave like all the other corrupt little muppets," he retorted sarcastically and released his tirade, " _Blame me_ for everything. Because _bloody me_ is the reason you screwed up in whatever _you did_! The devil made you do it, right? The devil sat on your shoulder and told you to care about your career more than what's-"

"Enough!" Chloe yelled at him. She couldn't take it anymore. She glared at him, full of anger and hurt, and shook her head, daring him to speak up again. He had no right to talk to her like that! He knew nothing! And right now, she once again got confirmed why it was better for him to never get to know what had happened to her. It was just a moment of weakness in which she thought that for once in his life, he wouldn't put himself first. But as always, he'd proven her wrong! He had to turn everything around to make it something about himself. He was the everlasting victim and everyone else was the eternal wrongdoer. Without another word, Chloe stood up from the table and headed for the exit.

Lucifer pressed his lips together and fixed his sight on the table, forcing his anger back down. Not for the other people in the restaurant or what they might have thought about their fight. No! He hadn't intended on freaking out in front of her like that. But this was all so frustrating! Bloody hell! Why was everything so difficult when it came to her? Why couldn't she see the things he'd done for her, only for her, and could have faith in him? Did she really think it was easy for him to leave her? For crying out loud, this had been the hardest thing he'd ever done in his entire life! But he wanted to be free! For once in his life, he didn't want his father to have planned out his future. Throwing stones at him whenever it pleased this sick bastard up there in Silver City! And even daring to hurt her, the only person in his life that ever truly meant something to him, the only person he... Lucifer shook his head to get rid of the thoughts. Maybe it was better this way. When she hated him, she would stay away from him, at least. Then he wouldn't have to worry about her and her safety while he had to fight against his parents, to finally set himself free from their chains... Suddenly grabbing his wallet, he tossed several hundred dollar notes on the table, jumped up and rushed after her. _'No!'_ he contradicted himself. He couldn't let her leave this way! He couldn't risk losing her!

When he exited the restaurant, his sight wandered to the street she'd parked in, and he breathed in relief when he saw her car heading his way, glad she was still within his reach. Without a second thought, he directly sprang in front of her.

Chloe had to do a full brake to not run him over. When she'd finally managed to stop, not even a leaf could fit between his body and her car. "Are you out of your mind?" she yelled out, releasing the fright she got with that sudden action of his.

He rushed to the passenger side, jumping onto the seat before she could drive off again, and countered, hiding the fear inside of him, "Don't you walk out on me like that!"

"Because that's something only you're allowed to do?" Chloe retorted sarcastically. She had to gather up all her self-control to not grab her gun and shoot him right then and there. Turning her sight from him and taking a deep breath, she tried to compose herself. It worked only poorly. The anger was still so big inside of her that she gripped her steering wheel up to the point where her knuckles turned white. Through clenched teeth, she pressed out, "Get out of my car!"

"No!" he denied, determined, and stared at her with wide eyes.

"What the hell do you want from me?" she yelled at him, furious and at a loss.

With a voice that was so caring it took her completely off guard, he answered pleadingly, "I want the things between us to get back to how they were from when we've left them."

Chloe chuckled and shook her head. She couldn't believe his words. "Oh, no!" she denied, not willing to put on that shoe. Making herself ready for her rant, she countered loudly and scornfully, " _We_ didn't leave. _You_ left _me_. All of a sudden. Without a trace. Without an explanation. Not caring in the slightest how I felt about that. Not caring about what I've been through because of that. Because of you! And now you come back and want to continue like those 13 weeks hadn't happened?" Once again she shook her head, sighed and continued with a calmer voice, "You may have put everything behind you. You may have put _me_ behind you. But that doesn't mean that I have, too!" She swallowed and took a deep breath. Having those words out of her system finally let her anger vanish. But unfortunately, it didn't cease her sorrow in the slightest. "Now leave my car and go back to your perfect little life," she mumbled and bit back the tears.

Lucifer swallowed down the anger that was on the tip of his tongue. He wasn't only angry about her words, but also about himself, that he'd put her through so much, that he'd caused her such pain. The urge inside of him to tell her everything grew. But before the words could jump off his tongue, he hastily swallowed them down again. He couldn't! He knew she wouldn't understand it. Heck, she didn't even believe that he was the devil! How could she understand that the more she knew about him, his feelings, especially those for her, the more her life would be endangered? Pressing his lips together to keep his mouth shut about that, he silently called himself back to order, and once again pushed everything down and locked away what could risk her in any form. Taking a deep breath, he turned his head to her and asked, hurt, "You really think my life is perfect?"

"Let me think about it," she started in a sardonic tone. "You take what you want, regardless of the consequences! The only person you care about is yourself! You screw around with everyone's head and heart, and then drop them like a hot potato, leaving them to their shattered pieces while you're off to the next best thing. And whenever something goes wrong, you blame _everyone else_ for the things _you do_. Because poor little Lucifer is so misunderstood," she mocked the last sentence, and turned to him with narrowed eyes, going one better, "Yeah, I think sometimes being the _hypocritical asshole_ you are must be pretty awesome!" She eyed him for a moment, saw the rage in his eyes, the gritted teeth, and she repeated, "Now get out!"

Lucifer had listened to her accusations without another word. To keep the anger about them inside of him, he'd clenched his fists so much his fingernails had dug into the palms of his hands. He wanted to tell her that she was wrong; at least in half of what she'd said. But somehow he couldn't bring himself to talk. Gripping the door handle, he exited the car and banged the door shut. He remained standing there, his sight fixed on the building the restaurant was situated in, while he listened to the distinct sound of her car driving off, feeling his heart break at the fear of having lost her for good. He closed his eyes, slowly counted to ten, and then opened them again and put on a cocky mask. Then, he headed into the other direction, deciding to calm himself down and order his thoughts with a very long walk.

/-/

He didn't know for how long he'd been walking, but when he'd looked up he realised that the English logos had been replaced by Indian writing. "Great!" he mumbled to himself. "I'm in Artesia!" At least he could finally feel some sort of peace inside of him now. He wasn't done with Chloe. No! He would never give up on her, no matter how many fights he had to fight. But now, he felt calm, and a soothing sensation that assured him, not everything with her was lost. That there still was a chance. Taking a deep breath, he looked around, mumbling as he walked down Pioneer Blvd., "Why in all world did I end up here?"

His question was soon answered when his sight accidentally fixed itself on a huge brooch in the display window of a jewellery. _'Yes!'_ it shot through his head. He'd intended on looking for the stones he'd need only in a couple of days from now when he'd sorted out the rest that needed to be done. But he wouldn't let slip a chance to get his hands on them sooner. Smiling with delight, he entered the shop, and loudly addressed the saleswoman, pointing to the window, "Is that a real moonstone in the vitrine over there?"

"Yes!" the woman answered full of pride, pleasantly surprised that he was able to speak her mother tongue Hindi. When she walked up to him from behind her counter, the long dark red sari she wore brushed across the floor with every step as she headed for the window. "It came in just this morning," she informed him while she unlocked the glass, opened it and took out the brooch. She held it towards Lucifer to have a better look at it. "It is actually a white moonstone, but when you look closely, there is the light outline of a grey streak through the glass, as if a thunderstorm itself had been captured inside," she advertised it further and laughter lines appeared at the corners of her eyes as she brightly smiled at him.

Lucifer glanced at it, a wide grin on his face. That was the perfect stone! And the setting looked easily removable, he noticed with delight. "Marvellous!" he exclaimed and turned his sight back to the woman. Straightening himself, he announced with a cheerful voice, "I buy it!"

"Excellent!" the seller called out. She turned to the glass door of the show window and locked it again while she continued praising the stone, "You know, this gemstone is said to hold the power of mystery." Wheeling around, she walked back to her counter, keeping on talking, "Just like this little grey streak is hidden inside its white veil, this stone hides the secrets of our own hidden truths."

"My, my, how interesting," Lucifer replied half-heartedly, silently hoping his response didn't encourage her to bore him with more of this sales patter. He followed her to the selling counter and remained standing in front, while he watched her placing the brooch on the counter and searching in a drawer for the fitting packaging.

"Are you around here often?" she went on to maintain the small talk. It was always a joy for her to not have to talk in English, in which she had such a thick accent that only a few people could fully understand her.

Lucifer shook his head before he reminded himself that she wasn't looking and replied casually, "No. I was actually just taking a walk near downtown and somehow ended up here. Then I saw the moonstone and knew I had to get it."

"Oh," she exclaimed in a sing-song voice and looked up from behind the counter. "Maybe the stone had called you?" she suggested with a wink.

Lucifer ignored her. He knew that calling someone was none of their true powers. These humans! he thought and shook his head. Always making things up to get their stuff on the market. When he'd read through some of the descriptions for stones praised in the shops of Las Vegas, he almost fell to the floor with laughter. Potency enhancer, mood elevator, forecasting, were just some of the things written there. No! These humans understood nothing about the real meaning and power of gemstones. Or their true purpose. Their level of understanding them was comparable to a five-year-old reading Tolstoy.

Unimpressed by his quietness, the saleswoman went on, bringing him out of his thoughts, "You know, the moonstone is very sacred in India. It holds a special significance for lovers."

"Does it?" he replied smugly, not hiding the sarcastic undertone in his voice at this blatant praise. He had to keep himself back from shouting at her what these stones really were made for, and put his thoughts to the back of his head.

"Yes," she answered, unperturbed by his words. "It's believed to open the heart and to help accept love. Especially when the love for a person must be kept a secret."

"My dear madam, I've already told you I'll buy the brooch. I don't need your further selling information," he countered, feeling the beginning of annoyance crawling up his spine. He didn't need to hear those words any longer. He didn't want to.

The woman glanced at him, the fitting packaging in her hand, and while she carefully pillowed the brooch inside, she continued, "It will help to reconcile estranged lovers. They even say that it helps to reunite loved ones who had parted in anger." Ending, she fully turned her attention to him and smiled with a knowing look.

Lucifer didn't know what to think of the words she'd just told him, or the look she'd given him. Did she read his mind? Did his father send her to once again torture him? Brushing off his feelings, he took out his credit card and silently held it towards her, who grabbed it and gave him the little casket in return. He stowed it away in his inside jacket pocket and sent an unimpressed glance towards the three digits long number before the decimal point that showed up on the cash screen. ' _Guess half the price consisted of her words_ ,' he silently told himself and patiently waited for her to give him back his card. He thanked her politely, left the shop as quickly as possible, and walked a couple of steps away from it before he looked out for any taxis, determined that he definitely wouldn't walk that distance back home.

/-/

While the lift went up to his penthouse, Lucifer retrieved the little casket from his inner pocket and opened it. He grabbed the brooch and released the gemstone from its metal setting, carefully, to not damage the stone in any way. He needed it in one piece and unscathed for its purpose. When the doors finally slid open, and he took a step into the entrance area, he was greeted by hysterical cries and two arms clutching him immediately. "What?" was all he could manage to utter in surprise before his wife cut him off.

"There was an intruder, Lucifer! Someone tried to steal from us. It was horrible. I was so scared. Why didn't you pick up your phone?" Candy blubbered out with tears in her eyes.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" he called her to order, sorting her words and his thoughts. He warily looked around the room. It didn't seem like an intruder had been here; unless Candy had already cleaned up, but that usually wasn't one of her strengths. Turning back to her, he asked calmly, "What did the intruder try to steal?"

"Your book!" she exclaimed, appalled, and pointed towards the direction of his dressing room.

Startled, he carelessly dropped the metal setting and casket from his recent purchase, and with the moonstone safely enclosed by his hand, he hurriedly strode over to the room. It looked messy when he'd reached it. Half of his suits were lying on the ground. Holding his breath, he went straight to the back of his closet, aiming for the hiding place of his books.

"He couldn't steal anything," Candy informed him with a slightly shaking voice. She remained at the entrance, too scared to step closer.

When he found both his books, he breathed a sigh of relief. He stood back up, turned around, and sternly ordered her, "Tell me from the start."

"I went for lunch with those Brittanys you told me about. And when I came back, around two, I found this man in your dressing room. He was rummaging through your clothes and I was scared. At first, I wanted to leave again, but when I saw the book in his hands I got angry," she admitted, her voice getting lower. Lucifer had to walk up to her to fully understand her when she continued, her eyes fixed on her fiddling fingers, "I know how important that big book is for you, so I grabbed him by the arm and twisted it around. Something cracked and he cried out. He dropped the book and fled. I know you told me not to hurt any human, but he wanted to steal your book," she reasoned insistently. With a voice that was barely above a whisper, she added, "Am I in trouble now?"

Lucifer shook his head and smiled at her assuringly. "No, Candy. I'm glad you protected the book. It's really important for me," he calmly replied and took her into his arms. He felt her still shivering and caringly ran his hand up and down her back, hugging her firmer. "Thank you for taking care. That was really good," he praised her, but his mind was completely somewhere else. This was his mother's doing! Definitely! No one else would have a use of his books. Maybe the dead man in the church had recorded how he found his brother's notebook and had told his mother. And this way she knew about his plans. ' _Oh, no, Mother! You won't escape my rage!_ ' he thought wrathfully and gritted his teeth.

Candy glanced up at him, a wide smile on her lips. "Really?" she asked, wanting to assure herself and bringing him straight out of his thoughts. "Does this mean I get a reward today?"

"Yes," he replied quickly and nodded. Pecking her on the head, he softly repeated, "You'll get a reward today. But at first, let me make a call." He withdrew his phone and stared at it with disappointment when he saw it had run out of battery. Quickly walking into the living room, he plugged the cable into it and unlocked his phone. Five missed calls and several more texts instantly showed up on the display. All from one caller.

"I told you I've tried to reach you," Candy informed him, standing close to him. "You've been gone for so long. Where were you? I was worried."

He nodded at her, his mind already half-absent as he quickly went through his address book, selected the number and hit connect. He held the little device against his ear and turned to Candy, gesturing her with his outstretched finger to remain silent. With the break-in, Chloe would have another link to his mother. One with him as the victim. And this way she could lock up this bloody bitch without fearing for her batch! The line finally connected and without missing a beat, he informed her earnestly, "Detective, someone broke into my apartment."

" _What?_ " it came from the other line, but by the sound of her voice, he knew she wasn't worried. It was rather an angry outcry. " _Lucifer, I'm not your personal police concierge! When someone broke into your apartment, then call 911 or go directly to the station and file a report!_ "

He hadn't even time to reply as suddenly the line went dead. He stared at his phone in disbelief, silently debating about calling her again, but then dismissed it. He didn't need a second scolding from her today. Or rather, a third, he corrected himself and put the phone back into his pocket, deciding to once again take matters into his own hands. Looking down at his other hand, he opened it, staring disenchanted at the gemstone, and huffed a low, "As if!"

"What did she say?" Candy inquired him shyly, not quite knowing if asking specifically about that woman was tolerated by him right now.

Lucifer quickly closed his hand again and turned his attention to her. "Not important," he swiftly dismissed it. Shrugging off his inner feelings, he put on a nonchalant expression. "Let's better get back to the dressing room, shall we?" he suggested and started walking. "I think the books aren't safe there any longer," he commented as he went for the two precious items. The safe downstairs at LUX would be more suitable for their storage, he silently went on, keeping in mind that he needed to change it's code so no one but him would have access to it.

He grabbed the casket of the notebook and put the little book into the inside pocket of his jacket to always have it on hand from now on. It was small enough to not get recognised from outside, and at least this way both books weren't in the exact same place. Then, he put the moonstone in the casket and closed it again. When he reached for the big black book, he halted shortly. His fingers ghosted across the imprinted letters, and he thought at the fate he'd chosen for himself; the first time in his life he finally had something in his own hands. He sighed, and his mind wandered off, back to the fight he had with Chloe. He felt sorrow creeping up on him. Her behaviour vexed him. And if he was honest with himself, it hurt, tremendously. After all, she wasn't the only person who'd suffered during their separation. All these days, turned into weeks. All this time he'd been away from her. Not only to keep himself out of his mother's reach but also to not further goat his father into putting her through hell just to see him suffer. He'd lost count on how often he'd grabbed his phone and wanted to call her, but in the last moment refrained from doing so. Instead, he'd turned to the messages she'd left him, listening to the sound of her voice to soothe the worst of his pain. He'd saved her life when Jimmy Barnes had shot her. He'd begged his father to spare her life when Malcolm Graham wanted to kill her, even offered himself to turn back to hell. And then, he did exactly that, killing himself and going down to hell when Carlisle poisoned her... And still, she had no faith in him. Still, she took everything he said or did the wrong way... And it hurt him to see her hurt. Sighing again, he shook his head to get rid of the thoughts. There was no point in further dwelling on them now. He had to keep focused on his plan! And he had to bring this book to safety, he reminded himself. If he didn't follow through with it till the end, it would bring havoc to this world. Grabbing the book, he stood back up and headed for the lift.

The elevator reached ground level and he quickly stepped out and walked towards the little office in the back area of LUX, making sure that no one saw him. He went inside, opened the safe, and stored the book and the casket away. Then, he closed it again and changed the code before he headed back up to his penthouse.

When he was out of sight, Maze stepped out of the dark, pursing her lips at his odd behaviour. She didn't know what exactly he'd been carrying, but she knew there was only one way to find out. Walking straight into the office, she looked around the room before her eyes landed on the big painting of a cartoonish mermaid with a clown's face. She chuckled at the picture in disdain before she grabbed it and hung it off. Behind it was the safe. She typed in the code, but the display showed denial to open the door. "What are you hiding?" she mumbled to herself, partly curious and partly concerned, and bit her lower lip.

/-/

For another moment, Chloe stared at the screen of her phone that had long turned dark again. She was angry at him, furious even. She'd been so distraught by their fight that she had to call her boss and take the afternoon off. At least Monroe didn't seem upset about that and told her to relax. She'd tried to. But she couldn't think about anything but the words she'd yelled at him. No matter what she did, they kept coming back into her head and wore her down. Several times she was about to grab the phone and apologise to him, but each time she put it back. She couldn't. Yes, he'd been unfair to her, but still, it gave her no reason to say all these things she had. And this weighed her down so much that she couldn't eat or even speak.

And then he'd called her, acted as if nothing had happened and told her about some stupid break-in! Had he no feelings at all? Did this whole fight between them mean nothing to him? Did _she_ mean nothing to him? Was she only interesting to him whenever she was useful for his own goods? She shook her head to get rid of the angry thoughts, realising too late that with that, she sent the tears from her eyes across her cheeks.

"Why are you crying, Mummy?" Trixie asked cautiously and carefully walked up to her. She'd been alarmed by her mother's yelling but didn't dare to make a sound until she heard her sob. Sitting down on the edge of the couch, she snuggled into her while with one arm she gently caressed her mother's back.

Chloe sniffed and quickly wiped off the tears from her face. Turning her head to her daughter, she shakily explained, "I'm crying because Lucifer was really mean to me today." She swallowed down the new load of emotions that made their way up her throat and wrapped her arms around her child, holding her tight and letting herself find comfort in the embrace.

Trixie looked up at her with determination in her eyes, her worry completely vanished. "If you want me to hate him for it, I'll do it," she assured her and nodded firmly before she snuggled back into her mother's arms. Lucifer was her friend, yes. And she really liked him. But no one had the right to hurt her mummy and make her cry like that.

Tightening her arms around her child, Chloe kissed her on her head, her lips stretched into a light smile. Then she pulled Trixie fully up on the couch and turned herself to properly look at her. "I don't want you to hate him," she denied softly and supportively shook her head. Once again, she wiped her cheeks dry and then gently caressed her daughter's soft hair, admitting, "You know, I was mean to him today, too."

Trixie curled her lips and deeply frowned at her mother. She'd always told her to play nice with the other kids at school. And if she ignored her own advice, this meant something really bad must have happened. Like on that day when her daddy explained to her that a really mean man had hurt her mummy that much that she had to spend some time in the hospital, and she couldn't visit her. It scared her to see her mother like this. And she didn't know what to do to make it all better. "Why'd you do that?" she wanted to know, hoping her mum's answer could help her figure it out.

Fresh tears welled up in her eyes at the question, and Chloe blinked several times, sending them down her cheeks as well. She took a deep breath, and when she answered, her voice trembled from the wave of emotions her words set free, "Because I miss him." She sobbed loudly, and Trixie quickly flung her arms back around her mother, holding her tight while she cried her eyes out.

/-/

The rising sun of the new day enlightened the street Lucifer was walking on. With a light foot, but determined to no end, he headed for the little souvenir's shop at the corner. Opening the door, a shrill sound of bells announced his presence and he fully stepped inside. The front area was stuffed with small and big Maneki-Neko and he sneered at the talismans, silently belittling the humans who'd buy them. But he wasn't here to make fun of other people's beliefs, he reminded himself and walked past them, straight to the owner of the shop who sat on his chair at the far back. Reaching it, Lucifer leant half across the counter, curiously eyed the elderly man for a minute and then asked in a perfectly pronounced Gan dialect, "Are you the one they say who makes perfect replicates?"

The man looked up from behind his newspaper and stared at him, stunned that a non-native could speak this Chinese dialect with such ease. He quickly hid his surprise behind a wary look and countered gruffly, "Depends on who's asking?"

"Lucifer Morningstar," he introduced himself and flashed the bald man a smug smile.

After the owner stood up and walked up to the counter, he questioned, half reluctant and half curious, "And what do you want?"

He grabbed inside the pocket of his jacket and withdrew some sheets of paper, unfolded them, and held them towards the man. "I need this in a week from now."

The shop owner took the sheets and adjusted his glasses to have a closer look at the strangely looking blade. With a sceptical frown, he raised his head and replied doubtingly, "I'm not so sure I can make what you're asking. I need the original in my hands to properly examine it, and not just some photos."

"I know you've already done replicates from just a picture, Laofu," Lucifer countered smugly. "And they're said to have even fooled the experts."

Feeling flattered and proud by the praise, the man nodded at him, agreeing. "I will try my best. But it won't come cheap!" he quickly added.

A whimsical smile spread out across Lucifer's face. "Money doesn't state a problem," he assured him and took out some bundled banknotes, carefully placing them on the counter. "You'll get the rest when you're done."

The owner nodded approvingly, and hastily took both the pictures and the money from the counter. When he looked up, he nodded his goodbye at Lucifer, turned around, and disappeared into the back of his shop.

Lucifer stared at the man until he was out of sight, pursing his lips. ' _This was easier than thought,'_ he noticed. Now, all he had to do was to wait for the result. Hopefully, the man would deliver what he'd promised. His demon was no one to be easily fooled. With a light smile on his lips, he turned around and walked back out of the shop.

The elderly man was busy with packing the money into his safe when suddenly someone grabbed him by his neck and put a sharp dagger at his throat.

"What did the man want?" Maze's voice sounded from behind, threateningly calm.

The man knew he didn't want to die for someone he didn't even know and quickly held up the pictures of the blade. "He wants a copy of it," he replied hastily, his voice thin from the little air that went through his windpipe, and the fright in his bones.

Maze grabbed for the sheets to have a better look. "What are you up to, Lucifer," she mumbled to herself when she spotted Azrael's blade, and absent-mindedly tapped with the dagger onto her thigh.

"If you want me to cancel him, I'll do it," the man offered, his hands raised in surrender.

Looking up, she eyed him with a smirk. _'Humans are so weak,_ ' she thought and chuckled. "No. I want you to do exactly what he told you. In exactly the time he demanded. Only, you'll make two copies of it," she told him, making clear that she meant business.

"But, but," the man stammered and little sweat pearls started to form on his forehead. "Two in just a week?" he asked, appalled, his voice raised in worry.

"Exactly!" she countered smugly. "You have the advantage that I have the original of this blade. I will bring it to you whenever you ask for it." Leaning over to intimidate him, she continued with a warning tone, "To _look_ at it and nothing more!" She straightened herself back and added with a calmer voice, "This blade is too precious to be touched by lower creatures."

The man quickly nodded his agreement, sensing that she wasn't someone to be trifled with. "And how do you want to pay?" he asked nervously.

This made her chuckle darkly. "Not at all," she told him smugly, her head tilted to the side. "Lucifer doesn't know the price you'll charge him. So let him pay for both," she simply suggested, and with another threatening glare, she turned around and disappeared again, leaving behind a little card with her phone number scribbled down.

/-/

Chloe sat at her desk and rubbed a tension headache from her temples. The day hadn't even started properly and she was already exhausted from it. She sent another glance towards the boss's office and huffed in frustration. Her plans had been to grab Dan and go with him back to Stephen, the witness, to get a written statement, but when she'd arrived here, he was already talking to Monroe. And this had been a couple of hours by now. What was so important? Her suspicion grew that it was something serious. Had it to do with her? Was that the reason Monroe didn't have a problem with her not showing up in the precinct again the past day?

"Hey, thought you might need this," Ella pulled her out of her thoughts and placed a frothy soy latte in front of her. She glanced at her, mumbled a low "thanks" and eagerly grabbed the coffee. Ella took a chair from the desk opposite of them and sat down next to her. "Rough night?" she wanted to know and drank from her own coffee.

Chloe took a deep breath and exhaled through her pursed lips. _'Rather two rough days,_ ' it shot through her mind, but she only answered with a low, "You could say so."

Ella smiled at her sympathetically, and lightly brushed with her hand across Chloe's arm, rubbing it in a supportive manner. "You know, if you need to talk, I'm here," she offered and sent her another sympathetic smile.

 _'Better not!'_ Chloe silently replied. She'd already broken down in front of her nine-year-old daughter yesterday and had used her as a mini-therapist. Geez! This probably had scared the life out of her little child. And she didn't want to let anyone else see how much she actually struggled to keep it together. "I'm good, thanks," she stated with the most casual tone she was capable of and flashed her a confident smile. At least her police-mode-mask was working properly. Turning the attention away from herself, she commented, "I wonder what they have to talk about that long." Her gaze briefly wandered to her technician friend before her eyes fixed back on the door to the Lieutenant's office.

"I know, huh," Ella agreed. "They make a pretty huge secret out of it." She raised her upper body when she took an extensive breath, and then supported one of her elbows on Chloe's desk as she rested her head in her hand. "They'd already talked for so long yesterday," she went on, worn out herself. "You should have seen them in the afternoon. Sneaking around, talking to no one else, and when someone asked a question, they acted as if nothing was going on." Under her breath, she added jokingly, "If this wouldn't be too absurd, I'd say they have an affair."

"Who has an affair?" a British voice burst out behind them and both women shrieked in fright.

Chloe clutched her heart, unable to breathe for a moment until her shock had ceased down. Then she turned her head to Lucifer, glaring at him angrily. "None of your business!" she hissed through gritted teeth. "Leave!"

Lucifer stared at her, taken aback by her harsh words, and straightened himself. For a moment, he really thought about leaving again. He wasn't keen on being the receiver of her outbursts today, but then he told himself that he couldn't always run off when things got rough. Shrugging off his hurt feelings, he put on a smug smile and made clear he would go nowhere.

Ella felt the heated tension soaring up between them and wanted to defuse the situation. "Why are you here?" she curiously asked him and took a sip of her drink.

His sight fixed on Chloe, he answered the lab technician cheerfully, a tinge of anger swinging with it, "I brought Stephen here."

"Who's Stephen?" Ella wondered, baffled but got completely ignored by the other two.

"He's here?" asked Chloe, perplexed, and instantly felt sorry for the way she snapped at him.

Flashing her an assuring smile, he explained calmly, "He called me because you didn't show up at the church this morning."

Chloe stared at him, puzzled. "How could he call you?"

"He has a phone!" he countered matter-of-factly, his voice raised at the end, and added in a normal tone, "I gave him my number in case something came up."

Chloe's attempt to reply was abruptly interrupted when a door was swiftly swung open and Monroe's voice resounded loudly, "Miss Lopez, could you please come to me?"

Ella swallowed audibly. For a moment, she feared she'd done something wrong, but quickly brushed off that feeling. She turned her head to her two friends and announced meekly, "Well, I gotta go, then." With that, she stood up and walked over to the boss, disappearing into the office as well.

Chloe stared at her, bewildered. "Why is she being called in?" she asked herself, only realising that she'd said it out loud when Lucifer's voice piped up next to her.

"The more important question here is: Why won't you?" He sat down on the now empty chair and stared at her expectantly with a slightly cheeky smile.

Her answer was a shrug of her shoulders. She turned around in her chair, facing her computer again. "Not that it's any of your business, but I don't know," she mumbled, miffed, but more at the fact that she was still sitting out here instead of standing inside of there, than at Lucifer being still next to her.

"Really?" he countered smugly. "You sure you didn't do anything wrong?" he probed her further and tilted his head in curiosity. "Because there must be a reason you're sitting here rather than following the leads in your case. Which is, if I remember Ella's words correctly: _Your first one_." He emphasised the last words and observed her attentively. When instantly a startled stare flashed across her face, he broached the subject again, "Your first case since when?"

"She'd talked to you?" Chloe counter-questioned, appalled, completely ignoring the rest.

He shook his head, the disappointment and hurt at the memory of that talk briefly flashed up on his face, but he quickly covered it up with a smile and answered, "Not really. She just said I should talk to you if I want to know anything." Seeing her head nod slightly in agreement and turning back to the monitor, he leant into her and pressed further, "So?"

"I don't want to talk to you!" she answered brusquely, slightly shaking her head, and only briefly glanced at him. She felt her nervousness crawling up on her again, and quickly pulled her sleeves over her hands, to wipe off the sweat on them without drawing any attention and to give her fingers something to fiddle with.

Lucifer huffed and turned his attention back to the Lieutenant's office. "Already figured that out," he mumbled to himself, not caring if she'd heard him or not. He saw Ella near the window of the door attentively listen to the other two inside and then send glances out into the precinct. And if he'd concluded correctly, she was looking at Chloe. Concerned, by the look on her face. His suspicion grew further. "So what is with Stephen? He's waiting outside, ready to make a statement if I'm with him all the time," he started, changing the topic to give her time to calm down a little. When Chloe huffed in frustration and, without another word, held up a little yellow note in front of his face, he leant into it to have a better look. "Don't do anything on your own again, or you're off the case. Dan," he read in a hushed voice and huffed loudly. "Pah!" He shook his head in disbelief. "What is the douche so scared of? That you solve the case without him?" he countered, vexed, but not at her.

Chloe shrugged her shoulders and nodded. She wouldn't tell him the real reason she wasn't allowed to leave the precinct alone. Let him be as selfish and stupid as he was. At least, in his presence, she didn't think back to what happened to her. Because he wasn't giving her these sympathetic looks like all the others who knew it. Because he wasn't treating her like a victim that needed to be protected.

Lucifer tilted his head, attentively watching her, and asked her, genuinely interested, "Are you still mad at me?"

"Yes!" she confirmed insistently.

His reply was a low chuckle. He stood up from his chair, turned back to her and announced jovially, "Come on, then. You can be mad at me outside the precinct as well. And don't forget your pen and paper."

Chloe stared at him, flabbergasted. He really didn't care at all how she felt or how she treated him, it went through her head. And for the first time, she didn't know whether she should be mad at him or thank him for it.

When she still didn't stand up, Lucifer turned back to her. "What are you waiting for?"

"No!" she petulantly declared and gazed at him with narrowed eyes.

"I thought you wanted to solve the case?" he asked, confused, his voice an octave higher than usual.

She huffed at what he'd implied with his question but silently breathed away her anger. This was the precinct she was in. Her workplace. And she needed to start solving her conflicts without always freaking out. Calling herself to order, she answered sternly, "I do!" After a moment of silence, she added crestfallen, "But I have to play by the rules."

Lucifer rolled his eyes, not believing that he'd just heard these words from out of her mouth. He was about to counter something when suddenly his attention fell onto the Lieutenant's office and the door that sprung open and released the three people inside, heading directly for them. Both his eyebrows shot up to his hairline and, out of reflex, he walked over to Chloe, positioning himself half between her and the others who stopped in front of them and now looked at her like a triumvirate.

"I've decided to hand your case over to Lambert and Davis," Monroe informed her with a concerned voice, her arms folded into one another.

"What? No!" It came equally loud from Chloe's and Lucifer's mouth, and both looked at the woman with incomprehension.

"These two bollocks will shut the case because they're too lazy to probe into it!" Chloe complained loudly. Thinking it might be her fault and that they only penalised her, she inquired, concerned, "Is it because I went to the witness yesterday?" Before the others had a chance to answer her, she justified herself, "It was a set time frame. If I hadn't gone, the witness would have left. And I wasn't alone there!" she added, making clear that she did abide by the rules, after all.

"No!" Monroe denied and shook her head, informing her in a factual manner, "Detective Espinoza has a different case now and we can't let you work on your own."

Lucifer stared at the woman, puzzled. Then his sight wandered to Chloe and he wondered what she'd done to deserve such a write-off.

Unaware of the dark brown eyes that were fixed on her, Chloe glared at Dan. "Why?" she spat furiously, putting all the anger into it that she felt about him letting her down so quickly.

"This has nothing to do with you," Dan explained calmly, trying to appease her.

"Then you can tell me what this other case is about!" she countered, raising her voice in frustration.

Dan shook his head, denying her order. "That's classified," he told her and apologised, "I'm sorry, Chloe, but I can't handle both."

She didn't want to hear it. She'd worked on this for not even three days and now she had to give it up again? This wasn't fair! And definitely not justifiable by any means. "You've already had a case together with me!" she sternly scolded him. "Why did you need to take another one?"

"This other case is very important," he explained. "I'm sorry, I can't tell you anything more. But you will understand soon," he promised her, his both hands raised to signal her that he meant her no harm.

Chloe shook her head and clenched her teeth to prevent herself from shouting the words that were on the tip of her tongue. "We have a witness who saw Charlotte Richards with the victim. And you want to throw that away?" she countered abrasively.

"Her son confirmed to us, that she was with him the whole afternoon," Dan quickly replied, hoping that this would take the wind out of her sails.

"This child is clearly lying!" Lucifer shouted out, upset and unable to believe that the douche let himself get fooled that easily. He scowled at Dan but ignored the look he gave him in return when his head turned back to Chloe, checking on her.

Chloe took a deep breath and silently called herself to order. She needed to make her boss believe that she was able to do it on her own. That she wouldn't fail. And this was only possible when she showed she could maintain a cool head in a heated-up situation. With a calm voice, she suggested insistently, "Lieutenant, I can take the case on my own. I promise."

Monroe shook her head, denying her plea without a second thought. "You're not ready yet." She knew her Detective, and it was better this way, even if Decker couldn't see it herself yet. One day, she would thank her for it.

"Not ready for what?" Lucifer interfered again, stunned at the words and angry that they obviously tried to keep Chloe down. "She's your best Detective in this bloody precinct," he stated with determination. After a brief pause, he quickly corrected himself, "What am I telling, in this whole city!"

Monroe stared at him, baffled for a moment, but then suddenly got the perfect idea of how she could keep her Detective happy and primarily occupied while they dealt with the other, greater one. With a wide smile on her face, she announced with confidence, "Well, since you're back in L.A., Mr Morningstar, and have been such a huge enrichment for our department, I'll allow Decker to continue working on the case if you will be her partner in this. Do you agree?"

"Yes!" Lucifer answered right away.

"No!" countered Chloe at the same time, vehemently shaking her head. "I'm not working with him!" she stated, determined, staring at her superior while her finger pointed at him.

Monroe turned her full attention to her Detective and clarified decisively, "Well, Decker, you can have the case only together with him. I won't allow you to work on your own. That's my last word!"

Chloe growled lowly, her arms folded in front of her chest in anger, and she grumbled, "So I'm trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea?"

Lucifer turned his head to her, looking miffed, and plainly corrected her, "No! You either have the case _with_ the devil." He pointed at himself, and then went on, "Or _no_ case at all." Receiving another glare from her, he straightened himself, and put on a stern mask, hiding the queasy feeling he got at the sudden dark eyes of hers.

Chloe huffed and clenched her fists in frustration. But then, she slowly nodded, giving in. At least, this way she could continue with the case. And just because she had to deal with him on it didn't mean she had to spend her whole time with him. Taking a low breath, she lowered her sight to the ground, not noticing the nod she received from her boss, who then turned around and went back to her office, nor the apologetic glance from Dan, who, with Ella in tow, went for the evidence room. She shook her head to get rid of the rage that crawled up her throat, that turned her stomach and sent a nauseous taste into her mouth. When the emotion abated, the wheels in her head started to spin: Monroe would never have given Dan a new case when he was currently busy. This was only done when an old case suddenly proved to get new evidence or a new lead... But he had no old, unsolved cases. Unless... Stirred by her inquisitiveness, Chloe stretched her head, trying to make out what they were doing inside the evidence room. But the frosted glass didn't let any nosy eyes get a peep. She huffed again and turned back around, only realising now that Lucifer had stared at her the whole time when her sight accidentally landed on him. "What?" she snapped out of reflex.

"You have your case back," he dryly pointed out, ignoring her temper towards him. "Are you coming now to get the statement?"

Not listening to him, her sight wandered off to two people carrying boxes into the precinct and heading directly to the evidence room. She was intrigued even more.

"Detective?" Lucifer called her, miffed but also concerned about her not reacting at all. "Detective?" he repeated, but again her sight was fixed on the backs of the two other Detectives disappearing behind the door to the evidence room. "Chloe!"

"What?" she hissed angrily and wheeled her head around, glaring at him through almost dark eyes. "Leave me alone!" she ordered sternly, not any less angry.

Lucifer didn't want to call her by her first name again and therewith invoke another rage from her, but at least this way he got a reaction out of her. "Care to tell me what's on your mind?" he asked calmly, trying to hide his wonder and concern for her behind a nonchalant tone.

"It's none of your business," she spat but instantly felt sorry that he took the brunt of all her anger. Still, it was better he would get mad at her for it and hopefully leave than possibly getting a glimpse of what she feared to be inside that room.

Taking a deep breath to keep himself from yelling back, he calmly reminded her, "I'm your partner."

Chloe chuckled scornfully, contradicting him. "Monroe said I have to bear with you in the church-murder-case. That doesn't make us partners again!" she countered gravely, making it clear that he wouldn't get that close to her again.

Lucifer narrowed his eyes at her. He finally had enough of her attitude towards him. "Very well!" He huffed and tossed a disgruntled "If you need my help, you know where to find me!" into her direction before he turned around and left the precinct.

Out of the corners of her eyes, she stole a glance at him, sighing, but then turned her full concentration on the four people inside the room. Slowly she stood up and walked towards it, determined to get a sneak peek. Before she could get any, however, the door suddenly sprang open and the four people stepped outside. Chloe made a leap backwards and tried to seem busy.

"What are you doing here?" Dan asked her suspiciously.

"Well... um... I just was..." she hemmed and hawed, not knowing what to say, but by the look Dan gave her, she also didn't need to search for an excuse anymore. He wasn't buying it.

With a disgruntled snort, Dan turned back to the door, locking it, before he let the key disappear in his pocket. Then, he turned to her and stated reproachfully, "Chloe, when I say the case is classified, it is classified!" With a gentler tone, he added, "I'm not trying to come down on you. I'm trying to protect you."

Chloe glared at him. ' _Not this bullshit again!'_ it ran through her mind and she pursed her lips in anger. Folding her arms, she countered angrily, "I don't need your protection!"

Sighing, Dan flashed her an apologetic smile, and without another word, turned around and walked over to Ella, who was waiting for him, before they both left the precinct.

Chloe watched them disappear behind the exit doors. This whole new secret case made her guts turn upside down. She didn't like the way Dan acted. And how Monroe had acted. And that Dan had _locked_ the fucking evidence room! They were up to something, she felt it, and she was determined to find out. Going back to her desk, she quickly grabbed her jacket and headed after her ex.

/-/

Chloe stood behind the door of a hospital storage room, holding it ajar and observing an officer sitting in front of a patient's room. Dan and Ella had disappeared inside of it 20 minutes ago. That meant they were interviewing someone. Maybe a victim, maybe a witness, maybe even the perpetrator itself. Whoever it was, this also meant the person was _alive_. But they were homicide! So why did Dan get this case? "Argh!" she grumbled lowly, the inner tension about the unknown nearly tore her apart. She knew she had to get in there to confirm herself that it was nothing related to the thought she had back in the precinct. She needed to make sure that one of her deepest fears hadn't become reality.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when the door to the patient's room opened. She quickly closed her door so far that barely her eye could peek out, watching Dan and Ella stepping into the hallway. Dan talked to the officer in front of the room for a bit, and then they made their way into her direction. She quickly shut the door completely and pressed her ear against the material, listening to their footsteps coming closer and then disappearing again.

She waited another moment, and then, when she felt the coast was clear, she opened the door; just a gap, to take a peep at outside. The officer in front of the room was absorbed in a newspaper, and so she silently emerged from her hiding place, closed the door, and without causing attention, she walked towards the room. When she came closer to the officer, she straightened herself, put on her I-know-what-I-do-look and stopped in front of the man. "Detective Decker," she briefly introduced herself, flashing him her batch. "Detective Espinoza was just here. He told me to ask the victim some more questions," she added, hoping that her choice of words had been right.

The man sceptically looked up at her. "The Detective didn't tell me he would send someone up here again," he commented dryly and eyed her warily.

"Something came into his head just outside the hospital, but he had to leave urgently," Chloe replied in a nonchalant way, innerly crossing her fingers that he would buy it.

The officer stood up from his seat, and cautiously questioned, "Excuse me, what was your name again?"

 _'Shit!'_ it ran through her head. This didn't sound good. Remaining in her tough-police-pose, she confidently answered, "Detective Decker."

"Hmph," the man mumbled and folded his arms. "Well, Detective Espinoza told me to not let anyone else into the room. No other Detectives than him. And especially not a Detective named Decker," he retorted sternly and by the shift in his position, made clear that he wouldn't let her through.

 _'Fuck!'_ She briefly narrowed her eyes, but otherwise stayed calm. "Alright!" she grumbled in his direction, wished him a nice evening, turned around, and left.

When she was seated in her car, she let out her pent-up anger and hit the steering wheel a couple of times. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" she shouted, furious, and then buried her head in her hands, groaning in frustration. She wanted to get inside that room! She _needed_ to know what was going on! She needed to make sure that the fearful thought that had jumped into her head was nothing but an ungrounded one. Damn it!

Taking a deep breath to call herself back to order, she mentally went through her options: Monroe and Dan were out of the game, obviously. She could give Ella a call. Maybe she would tell her something. After all, she belonged to her ' _tribe_ ', she recalled the word they said during their night out back then. But as quickly as the thought came up, she discarded it again, shaking her head. Ella wouldn't tell her anything when she'd promised her ex not to. And Chloe was damn sure, he made her do it. No! She needed someone who didn't care about what was right or wrong. Someone who was clever enough to help her, and was persuasive...

When her mind showed her the only option, she hit her steering wheel once again. "Fucking hell!" she hissed low-voiced. "No! Not him!" She rummaged in her brain for other suitable people. Maze could be an option. But she'd told her that she was currently busy with something of her own and she didn't want to bother her any more than she already did. Plus, Maze belonged to the type of people who broke someone's leg to get what they want and she didn't want anyone to get harmed. _'Damn it!'_ it went through her head again. He really was her only option. Groaning again in frustration, she started the engine and drove off.

/-/

Chloe entered LUX. It was only the late afternoon and the large room looked completely deserted. Not even the lamps were on, except for the emergency exit signs and the lights in front of the elevator that were barely bright enough to illuminate the corridor. A ping resounded, followed by the distinct sound of doors sliding open, and Chloe hastened into a dark side corridor, hiding, one hand tightly gripping her gun while she held her breath to not pant in fright. When she saw two of the Brittanys passing her by without noticing, she quietly exhaled, relieved. They were laughing, cheerfully chatting, wearing skin-tight dresses from what she could make out. She narrowed her eyes, but then discounted what she'd just seen, not wanting to think about it any further and what it might imply. Waiting until everything was quiet again, Chloe stepped out into the main corridor again and headed for the elevator.

When she was inside, the button for the penthouse pressed, and the doors slid shut, she exhaled a deep sigh, half-filled with relief, but the other half consisted of worry and concern. She didn't know how he would react to see her again after she'd snapped at him in the precinct. Or if he would react at all. Which, if she was honest with herself, would be worse.

Before the lift had reached its destination, another thought shot through her head: Was he even there?

Too late! The ping resounded and the doors slid open. Now, she had no other choice than to find out herself. She stepped into the apartment and called for him, "Lucifer?" Nothing came in reply. No sounds, no noises. "Lucifer?" she called again. Her word was quietly echoing through the room. Then, she suddenly heard a loud *thud* as if something was thrown onto something, and she jumped in fright. Gripping her gun tightly, she turned into the direction of the noise, and relaxed again when she saw Lucifer sitting on a chair. In front of him was a table with a book on it that he most probably had just placed down. He bent forward, reaching for his glass and then stood up. When he turned around to her with his shirt half open, casually swaying his whisky, the look on his face made her instantly tense up.

"Did you come to snap at me some more?" Lucifer asked her in a surly tone, tightly gripping the glass in his hand while he stared at her through narrowed eyes.

Chloe shook her head and took a deep, calming breath before she answered, "No."

"Good," he replied and his mood changed directly to that of delight. "Then, what can I do for you, Detective?" He walked past her and stopped in front of his bar, refilling his already full glass; just to have a reason to be closer to her.

Pursing her lips, she debated in her head whether she should say something regarding earlier. But then she decided that, since he put those things behind him so quickly, she had the same right. "I need your help," she declared and slightly bit down on her lip in nervousness.

"Oh," he purred, his eyes getting bright, and he flashed her a smile. "Do you want me to talk to Stephen? Persuade him to come to your precinct again?" he voiced the first thing that came into his mind. He placed the glass on the counter, fully turned to her, and buttoned up his shirt, making himself ready.

Sighing, she shook her head and explained, "I need to get into a hospital room. And for that, I need someone to distract the police who's sitting in front of it."

The light smile that was on his lips stretched into a sneaky one. "I'll grab my jacket," he shortly informed her, went to the couch, put his jacket on and rushed back to her. He pressed the button for the lift, and when the doors opened, he gestured her to step inside.

She nodded thankfully but hesitated for a moment. She would spend the whole ride down with him in a closed cell. And just the thought of it frightened her.

"You alright?" Lucifer asked, bringing her out of her thoughts. He placed his hand on the side of the lift to prevent its doors from closing again.

Chloe nodded at him, plucked up all the courage she could find, and stepped inside, but remained at the front. When Lucifer followed her, placing himself at the back, she quickly pressed the button for ground-floor, and silently counted down from 100 to calm herself.

Footsteps resounded through the empty apartment when Candy made her way over to the living room, a small towel wrapped around her, another one lying across her shoulders while she dried her wet hair. She looked around. "Lucifer?" she called for him, worried and disappointed that, once again, he'd disappeared without a note.

/-/

"Alright, this police officer is really grumpy and extremely principled," she informed him in a hushed tone while they made their way through the hospital. "I was thinking, maybe you could persuade a nurse to give us information about the patient, and then maybe get them to the MRI or something like that, so I can interrogate the person." She looked over at him, making sure he'd understood.

"Yeah, yeah. Just let me do it," he hastily assured her, gesturing her with his hand to stop telling him how to do his job.

They went around the corner, and Chloe raised her arm, stopping him before the police officer could see them. She pushed Lucifer against the side of the corridor, out of the man's direct view, and cautioned him, "Alright, there he is."

Lucifer stretched his head and suddenly exclaimed in a sing-song voice, "Stanley!" He turned his head to Chloe, cheekily smiling at her.

Chloe stared at him, puzzled. "You know him?"

He swung his head from side to side. "Well, we didn't talk much if that's what you mean."

"Ugh!" Chloe pulled a face but quickly shrugged it off. At least he knew then how to distract this man. Looking back to the officer, she quietly addressed Lucifer, "OK, I need five minutes inside."

"Well, I definitely need more!" Lucifer countered cockily and raised one eyebrow. "Rather ten minutes, maybe even longer."

Chloe shuddered at the vivid pictures that unwantedly popped up in her mind, and she stared back at him. "Whatever you need! Just send me a text when I need to get out of the room again. OK?" she told him, wanting to make sure.

"Understood!" he assured her, nodding. He smoothed down his jacket, and with his head held high, strolled over to the police officer.

Chloe watched how the face of the police officer named Stanley instantly brightened, and he stood up very closely to Lucifer. They whispered something towards each other before the officer looked around and then, with Lucifer in tow, quickly left for the restrooms. She closed her eyes, pushed the hurt feeling down at the display of his typical behaviour, and quickly made her way over to the patient's room. Assuring herself that no one was looking, she opened the door and stepped inside.

She silently closed the door again. And then, bracing herself for anything possible, she turned around. It was a double patient room, but only the bed next to the window was occupied by a young woman, who seemed to be sleeping. Her face was marked by the hands of an attacker who had been much too strong for her. Chloe winced and thought back at the moment not long ago when she probably had looked exactly the same. She put the distressing thought to the back of her head, and with slow steps walked closer to her bed.

The woman startled when she felt a presence next to her, and her eyes instantly sprang open. "Who are you?" she questioned, appalled, her rapid panting giving away her fright.

"Detective Chloe Decker," she answered her soothingly and quickly showed her the batch. "Everything is alright," she assured her, her hand slightly raised in an allaying gesture.

"I've already talked to Detectives today. And yesterday," the woman replied, surprised and puzzled.

Chloe nodded. "I know. I just have some more questions." The woman shook her head, making very clear that she didn't want to answer more questions and Chloe instantly understood. It had been the same with her. All she wanted was to be left alone and hide somewhere. "I know how difficult this is for you," she appeased her and the woman's head shot up, glaring at her in anger.

"Really?" she countered sardonically. "You know how it is to get attacked? Beaten up and..." She swallowed the lump down, and then tried it again, "And... raped, and then marked like a piece of meat?" she hissed, angry and hurt and desperate.

Chloe took a deep breath. There were no thoughts in her head right now, just a feeling in her stomach, and without a word, she opened her jacket and pulled down the collar of her sweatshirt, showing the woman her incised number. "Believe me. I know," she calmly answered, and quickly redressed herself again.

"You're another victim?" the woman asked, staring at her in shock and disbelief, and then turned her eyes to her bed. Tears streamed down her face and her jaw trembled when the insight formed into thoughts. "Am I really safe here?" She wept, her hands clutching the blanket. When she saw Chloe's confirming nod, she contradicted, "How am I supposed to feel safe when not even you, a Detective, were strong enough to defend yourself? How can I be sure that the police outside is able to protect me?"

"Because I will find this bastard. And I will bring him down," Chloe answered, determined, and reached for the woman's hand, encompassing it and giving it a supportive squeeze.

The woman sobbed loudly. She needed a moment before she had enough strength to speak what was on her mind. "How can you be so sure that he doesn't overpower you again?" she asked worriedly.

"I am much stronger now," she assured her and added impetuously, "And I have nothing left to lose." Swallowing down the anger that came up inside of her, she sympathetically squeezed the woman's hand again. "Have you seen his face?" she carefully asked.

The woman nodded, and her glance went down to her blanket again when she informed her, "But the Detective who was here today seemed as if he didn't believe me." She snuffled and wiped with the back of her hand across her face, drying her tears. "I know what I saw. It was _this_ man!" she stated insistently.

Chloe nodded at her, pursing her lips, and assured her once again, "I will find him!" Her free hand started to tremble when fragments of the night flashed up before her inner eye, but she pushed them away. She needed to be strong now. Not for herself. But for the woman lying in this bed. The woman who trusted her to protect her.

"How can I continue living?" the woman suddenly asked and imploringly stared at Chloe. "He attacked me inside my home. My home! I can't go back there. What will my neighbours think of me? What will my family think of me?" she cried and with a voice that was barely above a whisper she ended, "After I became... the victim of this... monster."

"You're not a victim!" Chloe decisively contradicted her, shaking her head. "And you will live your life like you've done it before. Day by day! I know it won't be easy. But you will pull through. Because you're strong! Because you're a survivor! This monster will never be able to destroy you! Understood?" she made clear and looked her straight in the eyes, insistently repeating, "We are survivors!"

The woman looked at her, new tears streaming down her face, and she tightly squeezed Chloe's hand when she felt the desperation wash over her. In this moment, Chloe did something she hadn't been able to do for a long time. She stepped forward, and took the woman into her arms, tightly holding her, spending support while the woman started to cry again, releasing her fears. "We are survivors," Chloe whispered into her hair.

Her phone started to buzz in her trousers pocket, but she ignored it. "And we are strong," she mumbled against her head. She continued hugging her, running her hands down the woman's back while she felt her arms around herself. The arms of someone other than her daughter, someone she didn't even know. And for the first time, she felt sure that she won't be harmed. Her phone buzzed again and Chloe softly told the woman, "I have to go now."

Releasing her, the woman looked up, a faint smile on her face. "Thank you," she replied in a whisper.

Chloe nodded, sent her a warm smile, and then turned around, rushing back out of the room. She barely managed to hide in the storage room when she saw the police officer in the hall again, heading back to his chair, closely followed by Lucifer who turned into the hallway, heading her direction. When he was at her level, she quickly opened the door and rushed out of the room.

"Did you find out everything you wanted?" Lucifer asked her in a hushed tone, adjusting the cuffs on his sleeves while they quickly made their way out of the hospital. He saw her nodding from out of the corners of his eyes, refraining from looking up at him, and somehow he got the feeling that she seemed distraught. At a safe corner, he held her back, grabbing her arm but quickly released her again when he felt her instantly tense. "You alright?" he asked, not hiding his worry for her in any way.

"Yeah!" she quickly assured him, nodding, and started walking again. She needed to get out of here. Fast! So she could take some fresh air and get a grip back on herself. When she didn't hear the familiar footsteps following her, she halted and turned back to him. "Are you coming?" she asked, trying to sound less in a hurry.

"Do you want me to?" he replied upfront and stared at her cluelessly. After all, his duty here was done. And she didn't seem to enjoy his presence, to put it nicely; or even to stand it longer than absolutely necessary.

Chloe didn't need to think about it. The words she told that woman upstairs made pretty clear what she truly wanted: She wanted her life back! And _he_ was a part of it. Running around with him, solving cases or just sitting somewhere and talk about them, or talk about nothing at all. That's what she wanted! That's what she needed! Getting aware that she still hadn't answered him, she quickly nodded, stating determined, "Yes!"

Lucifer smiled at her delightedly and took several large steps to be first at the door in front of them, intending on holding it open for her. Elated, he swung the door open, his sight on Chloe behind him, not recognising that he was about to bump directly into someone. A muffled thud was heard, followed by the splashing sound of something spilt. "Oh, bloody hell!" exclaimed Lucifer when he looked down at himself, seeing a yellowish liquid spread all over his shirt. Miffed and disgusted, he cried out, "Please tell me this was apple juice!"

Chloe rushed to him, concerned for a moment, but when she got sight of him, her lips unintentionally curled upwards. "I don't think it was apple juice," she contradicted and sent him a sympathetic smile before she turned around to find something to wipe it off with.

Lucifer turned his attention from her to the teenager who stood in front of him, dressed in a hospital gown and bathrobe, and was now holding an empty sample cup, too scared of him to say something. He glared at the clumsy fellow but didn't say anything further. When he turned his gaze to the side and spotted Chloe, holding something towards him that looked like one of these scrub tops, he rolled his eyes, but without grumbling took off his jacket and held it towards her. ' _At least this distressing look on her face is gone,_ ' he thought while he stripped out of his shirt, tossed it to the ground and grabbed the top, putting it on. He silently winced when the cheap material scratched across his sensitive skin but flashed Chloe a weak thankful smile as he took the jacket from her again.

Seeing the distaste on his face and how he wrinkled his nose, she calmly suggested, "Want me to drive you home?"

He nodded thankfully and walked after her as she led the way to the exit, securely holding his jacket in his hand.

/-/

The elevator opened and Lucifer rushed out of it. He was already several steps into the room when Chloe stepped out as well. "Just give me a minute," he commented loudly and quickly made his way over to his bathroom.

Chloe remained at the entrance and took a deep breath. The talk with the other woman also had brought back some memories she couldn't get rid off during the ride. No matter how hard she tried. And out of reflex, she glanced over to the direction where the bedroom was. Suddenly a dark wave washed over her, making her feel like it was _that night_ again. She stepped back, sensing the cool wall in her back, and pressed herself against it. Her hand wandered to her gun, tightly grasping around it. She inhaled and exhaled, slowly, concentrating on nothing else than her breathing to stifle down the panic that gripped her. She couldn't break down here. She had to stay strong, she reminded herself. He wouldn't understand. And she had to find this monster out there. Only then she would feel safe again.

Lucifer showered as fast as possible, grabbing the shampoo and rubbing himself clean from the remains of human excretion. He wrinkled his nose in disgust at the thought that he had to endure those remains on his skin for more than half an hour. When he finally felt clean enough, he stepped out of the cubicle, grabbed a towel and dried himself off while he walked into the dressing room next door. His skin felt only damp now, and he dropped the towel to the ground, grabbed the nearest suit, and quickly put it on. He didn't want to let the Detective wait for too long, fearing she might change her mind about letting him stay near her. With his shirt halfway closed and his jacket in hand, he walked back into the living room. His sight was fixed on the still open buttons his fingers were about to close when a brief glance towards Chloe made him instantly halt. She stood near the lift, her back pressed against the wall, and she stared blankly into space. Was it something from the case that had gotten her into this state? He was confused by her odd behaviour but decided to better let it unmentioned to avoid possible anger from her side. Continuing his walk to her, he inquired nonchalantly, "Why didn't you make yourself at home?"

Chloe jumped at the sudden voice but quickly played it cool and put on a casual look. "Where is your wife?" she wondered, turning the attention away from herself.

"Most probably out, having fun," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders, tossed his jacket on the grand and made his way over to the bar, grabbing two glasses and filling both. "You want a drink?"

What she wanted right now was to leave! Instantly! But Linda had told her that she needed to face her fears. That she couldn't run away from them as soon as they showed up. Because each flight would make them come back worse the next time. That definitely wasn't something she wanted for herself anymore. And therefore, she decided to stay in his apartment until they would vanish. Forcing her emotions down and concentrating on nothing but him, she declined his offer with a "no" and supportively shook her head. When the motion had eased her muscles that much that she was able to step off the wall, she silently breathed with relief, and reminded him, adding a smirk to make it look nonchalant, "I'm still on duty."

Lucifer huffed and shrugged his shoulders. Out of the corners of his eyes, he observed her warily. "Wouldn't hurt you to sometimes bend the rules a little," he countered smugly, grabbed his drink and downed it in one go.

"I've already bent the rules today," she retorted, tilting her head, and folded her arms to keep herself from repeatedly grasping for her gun. He already looked suspicious, and what she wanted to avoid the most was to make him aware of what was really going on inside of her.

"Oh, right, Stanley," he exclaimed and flashed her a wide, satisfied grin. "I can tell you," he trailed off, shaking his head while his mind wandered off into thoughts.

Chloe shook her head at him but couldn't keep the smirk from stretching her lips at the sight of him. How light-heartedly he stood there. She looked at the ground when she caught herself thinking of how much she'd missed these moments with him. Wanting to keep up the light talk between them, she mentioned, "I didn't take him for someone to be..."

"Gay?" Lucifer completed her sentence and curiously eyed her. When he saw her firm nod, he simply stated, "He isn't! Well, not completely. He has a wife and two lovely, little kids." Pulling a face, he quickly rephrased, "At least that's how he calls these little pestering hellions." When he looked up and saw her baffled stare, he countered teasingly, "What? Did you really think I am the only _hypocritical asshole_ around here?" he reused her own words.

Chloe bit her lower lip and quickly looked back to the floor, feeling shame heating up her cheeks. "Yeah, about that," she muttered and took a deep breath, nervously stepping from one foot onto the other and scratching her wrist to get some of the nervousness out of her. "I wanted to-"

"Nope!" Lucifer firmly cut her off, knowing right away what she was about to do. He took a step towards her, waited until she looked at him, and then told her, "I am the last person on this planet you should apologise to." What this little moment between them evoked when their eyes met each other, went sizzling down his spine, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and nestled into his stomach, tingling him. His gaze briefly landed on her lips, and inside of him grew the urge to close the gap between them. "Besides!" he hastily interrupted his thought and took a step to the side, covering his nervousness under a smug grin, when he added, "You were mostly right with what you said, anyway." He paused, taking a breath, and automatically wetted his lips. "Except for one thing," he quietly admitted.

Chloe swallowed and silently cleared her throat. She quickly folded her arms back in front of her chest and turned herself to increase the distance between them, calling herself to order and putting aside whatever had just happened between them. When she had stood so close to him, her eyes locked on his lips... She didn't know what exactly it was, but for a second she thought she was about to... Breaking off the thought, she hastily voiced a croaked "What?" to make him continue talking and with that, hopefully, bring this _moment_ behind her.

Lucifer walked around the room, grabbing his jacket and putting it on the armrest of his couch for no other reason than to keep himself physically occupied. The rational part of him was screaming: No! Don't tell her. Don't let her get close to you. But his heart disagreed. And it screamed louder. "It's not me who I care most about," he declared in a low voice. To soften the meaning of his words, he quickly added, a little louder, "Well, not only, that is." He harrumphed, looked around the room some more, and then, pushing down the nervousness, he slowly stepped up to her. He felt uncomfortable voicing what he was about to say, but he wanted to say it. He wanted her to understand, so she would get hurt less by the things he had to do. When he stopped closely in front of her, his eyes fixed on the ground, he confessed in a hushed tone, "You are the first thing on my mind... When I wake up, and also when I go to sleep." He took a deep breath, plucking up all his courage, and his eyes went a little upwards, resting on her form that stood in front of him, stiff like a poker. "I care about you. Deeply." Sighing, he took half a step back, bringing some distance between them to prevent himself from simply wrapping his arms around her. "I know you won't believe me, but that's the truth." Having this finally off of his chest, he inhaled, relieved, and dared to take a proper look at her. Her reaction, however, was anything but delightful.

"Really?" she countered sardonically and tightened the grip of her hands on her arms. Doubting, she gritted her teeth. Her eyes wandered around the room before they fixed back on him and she spat, unable to keep back the anger any longer, "Was this also the reason why you left? And came back 13 weeks later?"

He sighed and chuckled, his defence back up. "Like I said, I know you won't believe me." He paused again, and then continued, answering her question, "But yes, that's exactly why I left."

Chloe huffed out the ire and shook her head in disbelief. This man really was unique! After all the shit he'd done, now he's standing here and telling her that he did this for her? This was absurd! Did he really believe his own nonsense? Did he really think she was that stupid? "And because you care so deeply about me, you got yourself a wife," she spat scornfully, and the hurt she felt welled up again, reaching her eyes. She hastily took a breath and bit down the tears.

Lucifer shook his head. He saw the sorrow on her face and wanted to tell her. But he couldn't. "There are things in this world too far for you to understand," he calmly explained. "There is something I have to do," he began.

"Like fucking a married man?" she spitefully cut him off.

He chuckled again. That definitely wasn't what he wanted to say, but figuring that right now clearly wasn't the time to come out with the celestial stuff, he jumped on the train. Shrugging his shoulders, he put on a nonchalant smirk and stated smugly, "Yes, sometimes I take what I want." He stepped closer to her, and added with dark eyes that stared at her, "But don't tell me you didn't get any advantage out of it, as well."

"Don't you dare!" she warned him gravely and stepped threateningly close. She glared at him, and poked with the tip of her finger into his chest, slightly pushing him back, as she growled, "I am nothing like you!"

"I know," he whispered, and sighed, feeling upset that once again they were fighting. Putting on his smug smile, he added a bit louder, "But it wouldn't do you any harm if you, _for once in your life_ ," he emphasised the words, "take what you want, too," he countered darkly and looked down at her through narrowed eyes, ready to take the next hit. What he didn't expect, however, was to suddenly feel her hands gripping his shirt and firmly pulling him down onto her lips. "What are you doing?" he asked, gobsmacked, when his mouth was free again, completely taken off guard. He was surprised, startled for a moment, but also quite intrigued by her perky behaviour.

"I take what I want!" Chloe shot back and pressed her lips back on his, stifling any possible protest, while she pushed him backwards towards the couch. She didn't know why she was doing it, but since the talk in the hospital, she felt more and more that she wanted her life back. She wanted _him_ back. And his words were practically an invitation. When he tumbled down on the couch, too stunned to react, she quickly straddled his lap and continued with the kiss. Her hands wandered up to his head, one disappeared into his hair, and she held him in position while she sucked on his upper lip, rubbing it between hers and caressing it with her tongue. Finally, she felt him respond and relax underneath her. She ran her tongue along his lip line, requesting entry. He quickly granted it, parting them. His hot mouth welcomed her, and she started their battle for dominance. Still, she couldn't feel anything inside of her and that fuelled her anger even more. She wanted to feel him. She wanted to feel _anything_. And so she increased the fierceness.

Lucifer was stunned at her wildness. This kiss was nothing like the one at the beach. It completely missed the gentleness and care and instead, was filled with lust and greed. Under different circumstances, he would have willingly complied with her type of game. But not today. It didn't feel right. It felt as if she was fighting against a demon, and he was only her tool... He wanted to slow her down. To tell her that she could take her time because he wouldn't go anywhere anymore. Carefully, he raised his hands and gently laid them on her arms, slightly pushing against her.

Chloe removed her hands from his head, hastily slapped both his hands off of her body, and voiced a low "Don't!" when she leant back to get some air into her lungs. She didn't give him time to reply and quickly pressed her lips back down to his, claiming back what she'd dreamed about for so long. What she'd wanted, needed. When she felt his hands on her body again, this time slowly running up her back, she bit down on his lip. He quickly pulled back, grunting at the pain. His hands reflexively moved up and she grabbed them, forcefully pressed them into the backrest, and scolded him darkly, "I told you: Don't touch me!" She let go of his wrists again and gently moved her hands up to his cheeks, keeping him in place, while she leant into him and kissed his lips once more. With care, she ran her tongue across the bite, soothing the pain away, before she pillowed the spot with both of her lips. A low moan escaped his throat, stirring her up, and she fully sat down, pressing her weight into him, as she intensified the kiss again, slowly changing between gentle and rough. This time, he complied more with her lead and completely gave into her. She moved her hands down along his neck, further across his shirt, until her fingers found the first button. Hastily, she fiddled it open. His two hands suddenly encompassed hers, holding them still, and she straightened her head back, staring at him in wonderment.

"No," Lucifer whispered softly when his mouth was free. He panted from the lack of air and the amount of arousal inside of him. With a smile, he gently removed her hands from his shirt.

"But I want to!" countered Chloe, pushed his hands away, and grabbed back at the button. She leant into him again, intending on locking her lips back on his, but he moved away, dodging her attempt, and his hands once again found their way around hers, holding her back.

"I said no," he gently rejected her but gave her a determined look to make clear he meant it.

"Why not?" Chloe retorted, feeling anger bubbling up inside of her at his refusal. "It's not like you suddenly became monogamous, right?" she went on, and listed, reminding him, "The Brittanys, the police officer. They weren't the ones you shagged today?" she questioned sarcastically. But then her thought spun further, and she stared at him with hurt in her eyes. "Or is it just _me_ you don't want to have sex with? Did it mean nothing when you said _you care about me_?"

Lucifer took a deep breath. He understood her anger. But he simply didn't want to. Not like this! Not when he had the feeling that she'd gone through something he couldn't fully comprehend. Not when he still was right in the middle of a celestial war. He couldn't hurt her like that. He didn't want to. Hoping she would calm down again when he'd just explain it to her, he started, "Look, Chloe, it's-"

"You don't get to call me Chloe!" she yelled at him, furious. Her eyes were that narrowed that they seemed completely black. "If you say my name just one more time," she warned him gravely, "I swear, I'll cut it into your face! So you can see it every time you look in the mirror!"

He was stunned at her violent words, and swallowed, perplexed. This wasn't _his Chloe_ in front of him, that was for sure! He couldn't understand what had made her change so much that she was filled with rage. That nothing was left of her kindness. "What happened to you?" he breathed appalled.

Chloe was horrified at her own words and felt shame coming over her at his reaction. When she saw fear flashing across his eyes, she silently shook her head. She'd never do that! She'd never harm someone, just because she was angry. So why did she just say so? She pushed herself back and stood up, feeling the urge to leave.

Startled and afraid to lose her, Lucifer grasped around her waist and softly pulled her back. He didn't want her to leave this way. He wanted her to calm down and talk to him. He wanted to make sure that she knew everything was alright. "Chloe," he worriedly called her, out of sheer reflex. In an instant, she wheeled around and hit across his face. His head flew to the other side and his body crashed against the backrest. He gasped, astonished, and quickly pressed his hand to his lips while he tried to apprehend what had just happened. When he removed his fingers again, noticing the blood on them, he perplexedly stared back at her and into two sea blue eyes that were wide with fear and shock.

Chloe bolted to the lift, frantically pressing the button. She didn't know what to do or what to say to him. But she knew, she needed to get out of there. The doors sprang open, and she hastened inside and pressed the button for ground-floor.

Shaking himself out of his stare, Lucifer sprang up from the couch as well, rushing after her. "Chloe, wait!" he cried loudly, stretching his arms out to her, trying to grab her, but when he reached the lift, his hands slammed against closed doors. He stared at them for a moment, baffled, hurt, lost; not understanding what just happened; and not knowing what to do.

Inside the elevator, Chloe crouched down against the far back. She trembled, scared of herself, ashamed, and close to tears. What she'd done disgusted her; the violence she'd just used against him. How she'd hurt him. And the look on his face. How could she do this to him? "That isn't me! That isn't me!" she mumbled to herself over and over again, rocking back and forth until the elevator reached the floor. When the doors slid open, she hastily jumped up and darted out of the nightclub, heading for her car as fast as she could, and drove off. ' _What have I done?_ ' it ran through her mind, as she made her way home. Chloe was appalled about the person she'd turned into.

* * *

 **A/N:** heyyy, you've reached the end of chapter three :D I hope you liked it, and I hope the extra length made up for my slight delay :D (I was ill for a couple of days). Please let me know what you think of the chapter. Maybe what scene is still the most present on your mind? Is it the last one, or was one of the scenes earlier more impressive?

Have a nice day!

:o)


	4. Stay

**A/N** : Hello, my dear readers. Thank you again so very much for all your reviews. Most of them were lovely, some were confusing, some frustrating, but all of them were very welcome. :D And yes, I do reply to each one of them which were posted under an account (if the PM is enabled). Sorry to those of you who review under guest, I read them and I love every one of them.

Here comes the fourth chapter. For those of you whose emotions run rollercoaster with every chapter. For today, I'd recommend an anti-stress ball, you might get angry or frustrated, and definitely some tissues, especially in the end. Yes, there are also some funny parts included, but you don't need anything to laugh :D So much for that... :D

This chapter was **beta-read** by Daemon. As always, you're awesome, and it's an honour for me to have you. Sorry for making you cry, dear. The next time, I'll send tissues to you with the chapters ;)

Enjoy!

* * *

 _Stay_

o ~ o

 _It was one of those days that couldn't get any better. Lucifer's plans were all set, the forger finally had finished the right documents, everything went neatly in the registrar's office, and now there was only one thing left on his list for today before he could go back to the hotel. Even the sun was shining brightly, leading him down Flamingo Road. It could have been perfect... If he hadn't to constantly pull Candy away from the shop windows and other distractions like people, cars, or even fricking water hydrants. She was worse than a three-year-old. But at least, she also was silenceable with sweets as easily as them._

 _Candy had licked off her ice cream all the way down into the waffle cone, and when her tongue couldn't reach the delicious sweet in the tip, she tu_ _gg_ _ed at the arm_ _around_ _which_ _her free hand was_ _wrapped_ _, getting his attention, and demanded in a sad tone, "I want another one!"_

 _Lucifer rolled his eyes at her. She not only behaved like a three-year-old, she also currently looked that way._ _He didn't want to waste any more of his time explaining to her how a waffle cone worked, and most of all he didn't want her to get even messier, he mentally added when he looked from her face down to her hand, and simply grabbed the cone and tossed it into the nearest corner._ _Then he took out his handkerchief and cleaned her mouth and hand until no evidence was left of her eating one in the first place. "Maybe tomorrow," he eventually denied her in a low tone and put his handkerchief back. "You have to take care of that body, dear," he sternly reminded her,_ _put_ _her hand back around his arm and continued his walk, explaining further, "You need nutritious food to keep yourself healthy, and cold, sugared milk isn't one of th_ _em_ _." Glancing over at her and seeing her pout, a smirk flashed across his face. He quickly brushed it off, and mentioned casually, "Besides, we're here for something more important."_

 _"More important than ice cream?" she_ _wondered_ _bewildered_ _, and stopped walking, staring at him in disbelief._

 _He turned to her, nodded firmly, and_ _then_ _pulled her with him again,_ _quickly_ _turning his head back ahead before a grin curled up his lips._ _The shop he wanted to go to finally appeared in front of them, and he guided her to the door, opened it, and let_ _her_ _enter_ _first._

 _Candy awed as she saw all the sparkling jewellery. She was eager to explore everything, but still contained herself and turned around to Lucifer, awaiting his instructions. When his answer was a dismissed wave of his hand, she almost squealed with delight, turned around and walked up to the first thing that drew her attention: Dozens of bright_ _ly_ _shining necklaces,_ _that_ _sparkl_ _ed_ _at her from out of a glazed counter._

 _"Can I help you with something?" a young, friendly saleswoman_ _asked_ _, and stepped to her from opposite of the counter. She expectantly looked at her newest customer, but without causing discomfort, awaiting a reply. With her uniform, a white blouse, black vest and black trousers, she blended neatly into the design of the shop: Plain, but elegant. Only her dark red bow-tie and the matching lipstick and ribbon she'd fixed around her into-a-bun-curled hair allowed a piece of colour._

 _"No," Candy denied politely, her eyes still fixed on all the necklaces with their different colours, forms and gemstones. "I'm just looking at the jewellery while my Lord is buying something," she added and glanced up at the saleswoman to flash her one of her well-trained bright smiles before her head_ _went_ _back_ _down_ _again._

 _"Your Lord?" the young woman_ _repeated_ _, perplexed. She saw Candy looking up at her_ _again_ _, eagerly noddin_ _g_ _with a delighted "yes", and pointing over to where Lucifer was. When the woman's eyes landed on him standing in the wedding rings section, being attended by her colleague, the wide smile was back on her face. "Ah, you're getting married!" she exclaimed with a sparkle in her eyes, and quickly added, "Is it soon?"_

 _"No." Candy shook her head. "It was today," she corrected, and explained, using the new term she'd just learned, "We wanted to get married much earlier, but he had to wait for my papers to arrive."_

 _The saleswoman looked at her, slightly surprised that, despite her customer's dress looked definitely from the upper part of the fashion range, it still was nothing one could even in the broadest sense regard as a wedding dress. "Congratulations on that," she quickly replied, shaking herself out of her thoughts, and flashed her another one of her professional smiles. "I'm sure it was lovely. Was it in a white chapel?" the woman questioned curiously and leant over the counter a little, keen on getting some insight into another person's private life._

 _Candy shook her head again and looked from the jewellery back up to the woman. "No, it was a little grey room with a lot of chairs_ _a_ _nd a black edging that went across all walls." She halted for a moment, trying to recall something else from her memory her master hadn't told her to forget and then added, "But the man who married us was really nice. His name was Elvis, I think."_

 _"Aww," the woman enthused, and instantly her little fairytale-loving-inner-child took over. "_ _Did you elope?_ _" When she saw Candy's perplexed look, she quickly rephrased, wallowing in her own fantasy. "Were your parents against your love and you two ran away to get married?"_

 _Candy tilted her head to the side, still not understanding what the woman was telling her. But Lucifer had commanded her to be nice to humans, so she put on a wide grin and corrected her, "No. My Lord ordered me here. From down there." She pointed with her finger to the floor, making sure to not spill the word 'hell', that her Master had strictly forbidden her to use._

 _"Oh!" The saleswoman was baffled for a moment and watched her customer looking closer at some jewellery, while the wheels in her head turned rapidly: Despite her flawless American accent, this woman was acting rather strange, and she quickly assumed that she must be a foreigner. Maybe from Australia? That could also explain why they had to wait for her documents to be delivered. But she was definitely not the brightest candle on the cake, it shot through her head. When she saw how Candy's gaze had fallen onto a particular necklace, she smiled cheekily, hoping for a possible s_ _a_ _l_ _e_ _, and_ _suggested_ _in a friendly manner, "Do you want to try it on?"_

 _"Am I allowed to?" she responded, taken by surprise. She saw the other woman's eager nod and beamed all over her face. The woman pulled back the_ _lower part of the_ _shelf and took out the necklace, clos_ _ed it_ _again, and then stepped over to her. Candy held up her hair while the woman adjusted the jewellery around her neck, and let it fall back when it was done. The woman_ _reached_ _for a mirror that was attached to the counter and positioned it so Candy could admire herself in it. The necklace was sparkling around her neck, with its white-golden tiny chains and the little diamonds in their settings, and Candy was instantly hooked._

 _"You look so lovely," the saleswoman complimented her truthfully._

 _Candy sighed and simpered even wider. The woman was right. She looked lovely. Perfect, rather. She felt someone approaching and quickly glanced over her shoulder with a wary glare but grinned again when she realised it was Lucifer._

 _"Did you find something you want?" Lucifer_ _asked_ _, took a quick look at the thing around her neck_ _and then reached for her hand to put on the wedding ring._

 _"Yes," Candy answered, unperturbed by his indifferent peek onto her necklace. She stared at the ring on her finger. It was small and golden, with a little white diamond in the middle. She liked it, she decided. Leaning into him and wrapping both her hands around his arm, she pleaded, "Can I have the necklace, too? Please!"_

 _Lucifer ignored the light pout Candy gave him. She still thought this would influence his decision and he smirked at that. But he also had to admit that she looked quite cute with the forward pushed bottom lip. Being in a generous mood today, he_ _reached_ _for his credit card with the words "anything for you, my dear,"_ _and_ _held it out to the saleswoman in between his index and middle finger, flashing her an extra wide smile that turned her cheeks into the same colour as her lips._

 _Coyly, the saleswoman tucked an invisible strand of her hair behind her ear and looked out at him from beneath her eyelashes. With a "thank you," she grabbed the card, typed in the price, and swiped the card through the reader. "Your husband is very generous," she stated, addressing Candy, and gave Lucifer back the card, not without another shy smile sent_ _to_ _him._

 _"Oh no, he's my ma-"_

 _"Darling, don't discommode our dear Miss here with my boring heritage," Lucifer quickly interfered with his deep English accent, cutting off Candy before she could speak any further. Her head turned to him, and Lucifer saw her baffled look, but also that she was about to open her mouth again. He tightly gripped her hand to make her understand that she better remained silent now, and smiled pleased when he saw her matching his expression with an equally wide grin. Turning his head back to the saleswoman, he said their goodbye to her in a honeyed voice, "It was a pleasure to buy here."_

 _"It was a pleasure to have you here," the saleswoman replied with a bright expression and watched them turning around and leaving the shop. When they were out of sight, she sank down onto the counter. "Rich, that handsome, and an English Lord? I wish I'd be that lucky," she mumbled, wallowing in self-pity._

 _Her colleague stepped next to her, letting his upper body slouch down as well, and commented enviously, "I'd wish that, too, honey."_

 _She turned her head to the side, glancing at him through narrowed eyes. "You're straight! He's mine!" she quickly made clear, and turned her sight back to the front door, breathing out a deep, audible sigh._

 _/-/_

 _Lucifer dragged Candy back to the car as quickly as he could, and then drove back to the hotel they were staying_ _at_ _. The only word he'd spoken to her on the way was a harsh "Shush!" to keep her mouth shut. He wasn't angry at her, not much at least. After all, three weeks in this world weren't enough to get her accommodated to human customs. Still, had this been around his foes, this could have ended pretty badly, and he needed to make clear that she understood what was important before they would go back to L.A._

 _Within the safety of their hotel room, he dragged her into the back of the living area, push_ _ed_ _her against the wall, and firmly gripp_ _ed_ _her shoulder to keep her in place. "Don't you ever dare say to anyone that I'm your Master or your Lord!" he rammed into her with a warning tone._

 _"But," Candy halted, not getting at all what she'd done wrong. "You are my Lord," she pointed out, her voice meek, afraid of getting punished._

 _Lucifer took a deep breath, calling himself to order, and replied to make her understand, "Yes, but the others mustn't know that."_

 _"You want me to lie?" she_ _wanted to know_ _, horrified about that order._

 _"No!" Lucifer countered, elongating the word and releasing his frustration about her. She always had been simple, and the last one to understand things, but this also made her a great, loyal follower of his. Forcing a smile back on his face, he explained to her calmly, "Just don't tell the whole truth. Alright?" When he saw her blank stare, he elucidated, "We're married now. So I am Lucifer Morningstar. Your husband. Nothing more."_

 _Candy tilted her head in puzzlement, feeling less anxious now that his grip on her shoulder had eased slightly. "But you told me to forget what Elvis had said," she quickly reminded him._

 _"Yes! But not that I'm your husband." Geez! Sometimes he wondered if it really had been clever to_ _have_ _summon_ _ed_ _her_ _from_ _all_ _the_ _demons_ _in_ _hell. She could be so stupid at times. But then again, he needed exactly that: Someone who blindly carried out his orders, no matter what._

 _Drawing her own conclusions, she_ _inquired_ _, "So no one must know that you're the devil?"_

 _"No!" he almost shouted and let go of her, clutching his head. Putting his hands on his hips to keep himself from placing them around her neck, like he used to do down in hell, he replied in a calm voice, "People know I'm the devil because I tell them. They must not know that you're a demon!" he added through gritted teeth, biting back his anger._

 _Candy looked down on the floor,_ _feeling_ _sad that she'd angered him once again. That she couldn't do anything right since he summoned her into this world. That everything seemed so difficult to understand. There was a rule for everything. But there also was an exception to every rule. At times, her head was spinning so much from all the do's and don't's that she thought she was a roundabout. Remembering suddenly what he'd already told her, she countered, looking up, "But last time, you told me that with this human shell around me, I'm a human now."_

 _"Yes, you are!" he answered and nodded, pleased that she got something right, at least. "But no one must know that you've come from hell. Do you understand that?" Seeing her firm nod at his question, he went on, "When anyone asks you, you're Candy Morningstar. From Las Vegas. We're married. You're my wife. I'm your husband."_

 _"And I don't bow in front of you," she added with a smile, remembering that order from him the day he called her into this world._

 _"Exactly!" he exclaimed and sighed. Finally, they were on the right track. Deciding to further probe her understanding, he_ _began_ _, "So, whenever you talk to someone else about me, you refer to me as who?"_

 _"Lucifer Morningstar, my husband," Candy answered with a wide smile that stretched even wider when she saw his lips lifting up as well._

 _"And who are you?" he_ _went on_ _, looking sternly at her while he waited for her reply._

 _"Candy Morningstar, your wife," she answered right away and again matched his bright, pleased smile._

 _"That was really good!" he praised her, adding in a lower tone, "I think you deserve a reward for being so obedient." He grabbed her by her hand, pulling her away from the wall._

 _"And do I get to call you by a pet name?" she_ _asked_ _as he led them into the bedroom. When she saw his puzzled stare_ _he_ _sent her over his shoulder, she quickly added, "In the movies, you showed me, the women always called their husbands by a pet name."_

 _Lucifer shrugged his shoulders. "You can call me 'honey', or 'darling', or 'dear' if you like." He stopped in front of the bed and turned her around to open the dress zip._

 _"Uh-huh," she nodded her comprehension, keeping still while he pulled the dress straps off her shoulders. "And Luci! The woman across the floor calls her cat this way, and I like that name. Can I call you Luci?" she_ _begged_ _him after he'd turned her back around._

 _He offered her his hand to hold onto, and when she did, he helped her step out of her dress and pumps. Then he gestured her to lay down on the bed. "If you really want to," he answered brusquely, shrugging his shoulders, and started to undress._

 _"Luci, Luci, Luci," she singsonged, probing the name on her tongue. "Luci, Luci, Luci."_

 _"Now stop!" Lucifer called her to order, slightly miffed, and pulled off her panties. The repetition didn't help his arousal to come up in the slightest. It rather reminded him of the times Amenadiel had chased him around in the Silver City, calling him by this short name the whole time, and now, he couldn't un-see that in front of his inner eye and he shook his head in disgust._

 _"Are we having sex now?"_ _asked_ _Candy, curious and delighted. She opened her legs like he'd told her to do the first time he'd introduced her to this human pastime, two weeks ago, and waited in anticipation._

 _Lucifer shook his head, and ran his hands along the inner sides of her thighs before he explained, "Not right away. First, you'll get your reward. Whenever you do something right, this will be what you get in return."_

 _Candy nodded, not quite knowing why his head between her legs should be a reward. But when she felt his tongue on her, giving her a pleasurable feeling and stirring something up inside of her she had never felt before, she quickly realised what he'd actually meant. From now on, she would do anything to feel that again!_

o ~ o

"Lucifer?" Candy called out when she sauntered into the living room. She halted, puzzled that no response came, and was about to give into her disappointment that he, once again, had left her alone, when she spotted the black suit jacket lying across the armrest of the couch. She smiled lightly and instantly walked over, feeling for the evidence of the book inside its pocket. Getting the assurance, she breathed out a sigh of relief. "Lucifer, you were right," she loudly went on as she made her way over to the bedroom, looking for him. "The Brittanys are really fun to hang out with."

When she found the bedroom empty, she turned and headed for the dressing room. "They know how to party," she kept on talking. After checking the dressing room, she looked into the bathroom, she even stole a glance into the unoccupied room that used to be Mazikeen's. Confused, she turned around and headed back to the living room. ' _He must be here somewhere,_ ' she silently assured herself. He would never leave without his notebook.

"Lucifer?" she called out again, and this time, her voice was filled with worry. She looked around some more, and finally made out a figure standing at the railing. Heading for him, she loudly scolded when she stepped out onto the balcony, "I've called you!" He still didn't react, and she walked up to him, stopped beside him and stared at him, baffled.

"I've heard you," he quietly answered and took another drag from his cigarette. His sight was fixed onto the colourful lights of the city around them. He breathed out the smoke from his lungs, releasing a sigh in the process, and looked at the glass of bourbon in his hand, letting its auburn colour distract his troubled mind as he swayed the liquid around.

Candy gingerly wrapped her arms around him, one gripping his biceps, one running up and down his back. "Are you alright?" she whispered worriedly and snuggled her chin against his arm. He slowly nodded in reply and took another drag from his cigarette, his eyes gazing at the sky ahead. Still, she didn't believe him. She'd never seen him like that before, not even when he was in one of his dark moods. Carefully, she raised her hand and placed it on his cheek, gently moving his head towards her. She wanted to look him in the eyes to see if he really was fine, but when she spotted the burst lip, she gasped, appalled. "What happened?" she cried out and cupped his face.

"I told you I'm fine," Lucifer responded and pulled himself out of her grasp.

She didn't believe one word. Her features darkened in anger when she voiced her first and only suspicion, "Was it that woman? Did she hurt you?" She growled lowly, releasing some of the rage that had welled up inside of her, and added, mumbling, "I'll make her pay for that!"

"You won't do anything to her!" he shouted, his fiery-red eyes flashing up, threatening her. He dropped the things in his hands, and grabbed both her wrists, pulled her against him, and warned her insistently with a cold voice, "Understood?" When he saw her frantic nod and her with fear filled eyes staring at him, he let go of her again. His eyes turned back to their warm, dark brown colour, and he stated firmly, feeling the need to defend Chloe, "It wasn't her fault!" After a brief moment, he added sorrowfully, "It was mine."

Candy nodded, making clear to him that she'd listen to his words. Even if she still wanted to go against that woman, she wouldn't disobey him. Tenderly, she gripped his arm again and leant into him. "Let me kiss it better," she whispered, aiming for his mouth, but he quickly moved his head out of her reach. She pursed her lips, feeling sad that he, as so often, turned away from her when she tried to comfort him. She lowered her mouth to his arm and planted a soft kiss on the fabric instead. "Then come," she said calmly and kissed his arm again, her hands gently clasped around him. "Come to bed with me." She placed another kiss on his shoulder and then carefully pulled him with her as she made her way over to the bedroom.

When they were inside, she guided him to his bed and made him sit down. She quickly hopped onto the bed and placed herself behind him. And while he was busy with opening the buttons of his shirt, his mind deep in thoughts again, she leant down, kissed along the back of his neck, up to behind his ear, and ran her hands down his chest, further, until she felt the soft skin around his navel.

The feeling of her wrapped around him, with her teeth lightly nibbling at his earlobe and her fingers scratching across his belly, eventually brought him out of his mind. He tensed under her touch, quickly grabbed her hands, and gently pushed her away from himself.

"Did I do something wrong?" Candy asked with a mixture of worry and irritation. She sat on her heels, supported her hands on her knees, and stretched her upper body to attentively look at him from the side.

Lucifer shook his head, voicing a soft "no," while he undressed his shirt and let it drop to the ground.

Candy narrowed her eyes, and this time, her annoyance outweighed. "Then, why don't you want to sleep with me?"

"I'm not in the mood!" he countered and huffed lightly, hacked off by her insatiable hunger for sex, lately.

She growled lowly, clenching her teeth to keep down the anger that blubbered up inside of her. "It's because of that woman, isn't it?" she questioned darkly. When he didn't show any reaction, she pushed against his shoulder, shouting at him, "That Detective caused all this! Am I right?"

He turned his head halfway to her, his eyes staring into space, and answered, tight-lipped, "Don't know what you're talking about."

"You're _my_ husband!" she yelled, angry and jealous. "She can't have you! You're mine!"

"No, I'm not!" he yelled back, denying it. He turned around, stared at her with black eyes and spat through gritted teeth, "We might be married, but I neither belong to you, nor am I yours!" he made clear, and with a slightly lower voice, he added, "I've brought you into this world just for one purpose! Don't you ever forget that!"

Candy glared back at him, not intimidated in the slightest by his demeanour, the rage inside of her was simply too strong. She grabbed her wedding ring, pulling it off, and held it towards him as she burst out, "Then this doesn't mean anything!" Furious, she turned her upper body and threw the ring against the window wall. It bounced off with a loud thud, and rolled under the bed.

"You put that ring back on," he growled darkly, his eyes fiery-red. "Right now!" he ordered loudly and added in a threatening voice, "Or you'll get to know me!"

Her narrowed eyes opened again, revealing the fear she felt at his look, and she quickly stood up from the bed and crouched down, crawling under the bed to find the ring. When she finally found it in the back corner, her body had almost completely disappeared underneath. She reached for it and startled for a moment when her fingers felt something else than just the ring. Something small, made of metal. She grabbed both and crawled back out. Using the light of the bedside lamp, she looked at the items in her hand. She quickly put her ring back to where it belonged, and stared at the golden necklace for a little longer, before she turned around and held it towards Lucifer, asking curiously, "Whose's this?"

"What?" Lucifer grunted and turned to her. When his eyes landed on the item in her hand, however, all his anger instantly vanished, and he moved closer to her, grabbing the necklace. He stared at it in disbelief, examining it closely to reassure himself several times that it was the one he assumed it to be. "This can't be!" it softly left his lips.

"It's pretty. Can I keep it?" Candy begged and expectantly looked at him.

Lucifer hadn't even noticed that she'd crawled back on the bed again and was now right in front of him. Denying her, he shook his head and closed his fingers around the precious object before she could reach for it. He turned around, jumped off the bed, and without caring to explain anything, he rushed into the bathroom.

The cold light of the mirror was bright enough for him to properly examine the necklace. Indeed! This was Chloe's. But why was it inside his bedroom? Under the bed? Chloe would never take it off. It was a gift from her father for her 16th birthday, she'd once told him. And since back then, she'd worn it day and night. So why was it here?

Taking a closer look at it, he saw its chain was broken, as if it had been ripped off her neck, and he wondered how that had happened. _'And why was it so dirty?'_ he further wondered at the brown colour that covered most of the little golden item. He turned on the tap, waited until the water was warm enough and then held the necklace beneath it to wash off the dirt. He carefully rubbed it, and then, when the dirt seemed to get off, he recognised with surprise that the flowing water had turned into a light shade of pink. His mind stopped working. He didn't want to think any further about why Chloe's necklace had been lying there, or why it was covered in... He cut himself off and strictly concentrated on cleaning it as best as he could. There most probably was a more reasonable explanation for it! When he was done, he took a towel from out of the shelf and dried it off. He knew someone who could properly clean and fix the necklace. Now, in the middle of the night, wouldn't be the right time to go there, but he promised himself that he would go directly tomorrow morning, getting it properly done, and then he would go to Chloe, demanding answers. Or at least, giving it back to her. Maybe it could help them to talk normally again.

/-/

When Lucifer walked into the precinct, he got greeted by a very unusual sight: All the people inside had stopped working and were looking at the Lieutenant's office. He quickly found out why when loud shouts came out of the room. Walking closer, he spotted Ella sitting on top of a desk and stopped next to her. "What's going on?" he asked curiously, his eyes fixed on the windows that were covered by the blinds.

Ella didn't look at him. Like spell-bound, she stared at the office, munching away gummy bears as she answered him low-voiced, "Chloe is either getting on Dan's case, or she's getting fired."

"Oh," he exclaimed, surprised, and looked at the lab technician. "And how are the odds?" he wanted to know, his tone carrying a bit of the worry he felt at her prediction. Without waiting for an answer, he turned his head back, not wanting to miss a bit, even if he couldn't see what was going on inside.

Ella raised her hand, twirling it up and down a little as she replied, "Fifty-fifty." She shifted on the desk, making room for him to have a seat next to her, and slightly smirked when he walked around, but only leant against the desk. When another loud yell came out of the office, startling her, she instinctively ducked behind his shoulder, mumbling concerned, "This woman gets herself fired!"

"Nah!" Lucifer countered nonchalantly, shrugging it off. He turned his attention to the lab technician, giving her an assuring smile. "And even if so, the Lieutenant and I are tight," he affirmed her, supportively showing his crossed index and middle finger to her. "I'm pretty sure I can make Monroe reconsider her decision and get the Detective back into her job." Hearing Ella's relieved chuckle and receiving a grin from her, he asked inquisitively, "So, why is she so adamant to get on this case?"

Ella fully turned her head to him, hunching her shoulders and apologetically raising the corners of her lips. "Sorry," she voiced and shook her head to make clear that she wouldn't say anything to this.

Lucifer nodded. "I know, that's also confidential," he mumbled, and huffed, miffed. As an offer of peace, Ella held her gummy bears bag towards him, and he eagerly grabbed a bunch of them and shoved them into his mouth. "The Lieutenant seems quite calm with her outburst," he mentioned, and stole a glance around, noticing that the faces of the other Detectives and Officers rather revealed curiosity than concern. "It seems like this isn't her first one inside of here," he commented further.

Ella sighed. "Yeah. That's kinda normal for the last three weeks. She has them like every second day, but not like this," she indicated and pointed towards the boss's room, ducking her head again when another shout was heard, followed by the clear, loud warning, "Get a grip, Detective!"

"Hm," Lucifer hummed, his mind already working: For three weeks now. So something must have happened at that time, that had made her turn into that woman, he concluded and silently nodded his head.

When the tumult suddenly stopped and quickly after that the door was being ripped open and Chloe rushed out like set on fire, banging the door shut behind her in anger, everyone hastily turned their heads away. Ella jumped off the table, dodging her head to not be seen by her friend, and acting as if she had something very important to do.

Lucifer stood up as well, but remained near the table, curiously watching the people pretend they weren't interested in the things going on, when in reality their heads shot back, tacked on Chloe, as soon as she wasn't looking in their direction any longer. He found it quite intriguing, this human sort of game. He watched her tramping back to her desk, slumping down on her chair, and burying her head in her hands, stifling the frustrated outcry that left her throat. ' _Oh dear,_ ' he thought to himself at her obvious display of dissatisfaction. He straightened himself and walked over to her. "Hello, Detective," he greeted her in a jovial mood and flashed her a wide smile.

Chloe groaned into the palms of her hands before she lowered her arms, sent him a quick, mumbled "morning" and pushed herself away from her desk, standing up and walking straight to the break room. She didn't want to talk to him right now. She didn't even want to see him. She still had to wrap her mind around of what had happened last night with her. Him. Them. She knew she had to apologise to him for what she did. But in her current state, so full of anger and resentment, she feared that it would end in her yelling again, and he definitely didn't deserve that.

Lucifer simply walked after her. He waited until she was done with grabbing a mug and putting it under the coffee machine before he asked easy-going, "So, how did the talk inside there go?"

Chloe chuckled involuntarily. Of course! Out of all topics, he would instantly jump on that one! "Take a guess," she countered sardonically and bit her tongue to prevent herself from adding something more. She wanted to keep calm in his presence, she reminded herself. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled through her pursed lips to compose herself some more and then turned to him, avoiding his gaze when she stated concernedly, "Look. Maybe it's good for us if we don't see each other for a while. Just until I've calmed down a little. OK?" She mentally patted her shoulder at the professional sound of her voice.

"If you allude to what happened at mine yesterday," he started and, seeing the slight cringe in her eyes at the reminder, he quickly went on, "I'm willing to let this whole moment get wiped off my memory if you're answering me one particular question."

The relieved sigh that wanted to crawl up her throat at his offer instantly died down with his last words. She swallowed, took another breath and pushed the nervousness away that spread out within her. Assuring herself that he hadn't even said anything yet, so it would be useless to freak out just yet, she looked at him and replied dryly, "Shoot."

"What were you doing in my bedroom?" he inquired her full of curiosity and flashed her a toothy grin.

Chloe stared at him, gobsmacked. After blinking several times, she countered baffled, "Excuse me?"

"Have you been naughty while I was away?" he teased and leant a little into her. "Lying in my bed and dreaming about me?"

She instantly took a step back, getting defensive as she answered, denying, "Geez! No! Why do you think that?" She didn't like the way her voice trembled, even if it was only slightly. It made her sound as if she was hiding the truth. Well, she was hiding the truth, but for a completely different reason. To stop her hands from shaking, she grabbed for her mug, moved it to her lips, but, gladly, refrained from taking a sip as the steam of the freshly brewed coffee went into her nose and almost burned her nostrils, making her pull back her head at just the right moment.

Lucifer shrugged his shoulders and smirked smugly, stirred on by the nervous look she gave him. He slipped his hand into his pocket, encompassed the necklace, and when he pulled his closed fist back out, he positioned it in front of her head and countered cockily, "Because you've forgotten something very important, my dear." He opened his fingers and let the necklace dangle in front of her.

Chloe startled and dropped the mug. It fell down to the floor. The porcelain shattered into pieces and the coffee splashed all over the place. But Chloe didn't care. She also didn't care about the spills that left black stains on her dark blue jeans and her shoes. She could only stare at the necklace in shock. Images of the night flooded back into her head, and she suddenly remembered how he'd grabbed it after he was done with her, and had pulled it off. She'd thought up to now that he'd kept it for himself, as a souvenir... When she heard Lucifer's soft voice, concernedly calling her and bringing her out of her thoughts, and she saw him taking a step closer, she quickly shook herself out of her stiffness and rushed past him. She wanted to flee as fast as she could, but she was barely out of the door when something kept her back. She turned her head back and stared down, seeing that Lucifer had grabbed her hand, holding it tight. She couldn't even feel it.

"Detective, what is wrong so suddenly?" asked Lucifer, confused and full of worry for her. He hadn't wanted to scare her. Or make her run away from him again. And he was shocked to feel her ice-cold fingers in his hand. Hoping he could somehow calm her down again, he gently pulled her closer, intending on getting her back into the break room so she had a place where she could come down from her fright.

"Don't touch me!" Chloe screamed at him at the top of her voice. All of a sudden, she was free. For a moment, she stood there, stiff like a poker, torn between the urge to flee and the inner need to release the rage that had welled up at the first best person available.

He only wanted to give it back. He'd even let it get fixed this morning because he knew how important this little piece of memory was for her. But right now, he couldn't pin down the source of her anger in the slightest, or the terror he'd seen in her eyes when he'd first showed her the necklace. Not knowing what else to do, Lucifer stretched his hand, holding the necklace out to her, and asked her perplexed, "But, don't you want it back?"

Chloe's eyes wandered down to his hand and she stared at the necklace as more memories crashed in on her. "No!" she screamed at him, grabbed the jewellery and tossed it away.

"Chloe!" Dan called out from out of the evidence room and looked at her, having been startled by the loud scream. He rushed to her, gently grabbing her arms, trying to get her back into the break room.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed at him as well, and when he let go of her but still was blocking any other escape route, she turned around and walked back into the room, her hands protectively covering the back of her neck.

When Dan silently gestured Lucifer to move away, he was so aghast at the current situation that he did as he was told without a murmur. He looked back at the two in the break room. Dan talked soothingly to Chloe while she'd wrapped her arms around herself, nodding from time to time, making clear that she'd heard his words while shifting from one foot to the other. Lucifer was shaken. Unsettled by the terror in her eyes, the sudden outburst that had followed, and the ice-cold hand in his, soaked in sweat within the blink of an eye. As if on auto-pilot, he turned around and searched for the necklace, kneeling down when he found it and picking it up. No matter what had happened to her to cause such a reaction, it was still her father's gift. And one day, she might want it back.

The necklace had landed near the evidence room, and Dan had rushed out of it so hastily that he'd forgotten to close the door. Lucifer peeped inside, not seeing much, but recognised some pictures hanging on the rear wall. He wanted to help Chloe. And he still clearly remembered how inquisitive she was to find out what was in there. So, he turned around, making sure that no one was currently looking in his direction, and then, stepped inside.

At the back of the room, there was a whiteboard with five numbers written on it with a black marker. Some space and a black line divided the first four from the number five. Below them were hanging pictures, except for number three which was empty, completely. Lucifer stepped closer and was appalled when he saw what they all showed: Women, beaten beyond recognition. Some photos depicted their faces, others showed whole bodies, covered in their own blood. Some of it was on their heads, having run down their necks, but most of it was covering the insides of their thighs. Additional pictures of their necks revealed strangulation marks on them, and more showed resultant evidence on the bedsheets where the women were lying, painted in red and yellow. Then there were photos displaying that a number had been cut into the upper side of their left breast, disclosing that they had been marked. All victims were dead, only number five on the far right looked still alive, and all the photos of her showed her in the hospital, with the empty place of crime pictured next to them.

He couldn't imagine what horror these women must have gone through before their deaths, or still was, in regards to woman number five. Was it her Chloe had visited in the hospital the past day? He knew, she already took it to heart what had happened to the victims when they visited a usual crime scene. But to see this... Even by just looking at them he felt rage seething underneath his skin. And he directly realised why she'd been so distraught the last evening. Or why she'd acted out. If a woman would have told him what had happened to her, with this monster still out there... Now, he could clearly understand why Chloe was so adamant about solving this case. And with victim number three missing completely... Have they still not found her? Was it that what had made her snap? Because she was looking for victim number three, but couldn't find her? Because this monster had already attacked, violated and destroyed five women's lives, and was still on the loose?

Lucifer looked further through the photos and then went around the room, trying to memorise as much information as he could to later help Chloe with it. When he took a step to the side, he suddenly noticed a cardboard box standing in the corner on the ground; one of those the police used to store their cases in. The big letters "CLOSED" were written on it. So maybe, Lucifer concluded, they already had convicted a person of the crimes but were wrong. That would also explain why number five was put so far away from the other four. Maybe the real attacker was still out there and had just waited a bit until he continued with his crimes. Maybe Chloe had made a mistake, and that's why she wasn't allowed on the case. And maybe that's why she wanted to get the case back; to make it right again, this time.

Driven by his curiosity, he crouched down and opened the box. Inside was just one file. Even with his whole body shielding any direct light from it, he recognised the big black letters "CLASSIFIED" written on top. He shook his head. ' _As if this would keep anyone from looking inside,_ ' he thought and pursed his lips. He grabbed the file and straightened himself. When the ceiling lights fell on it, he also noticed two little letters written in the upper right corner: ' _D., C.'_ What might they mean, he wondered and opened the file... and would have let it drop right away if his body hadn't instantly frozen in shock by the first photo that revealed itself: The head of a woman, again beaten, almost unrecognisable. But only almost. He could make out this face under a million, even in the state it showed. The soft outline of her jaw that was covered in dark bruises, the shape of her left brow where a slashing wound was going right through the middle, and the sea blue colour of her half-open right eye that stared blankly at the camera proved who he was staring at: Chloe! Gasping in shock, he quickly grabbed all the pictures from inside, carelessly dropping the cover to the ground. At first, he didn't want to look through them, but somehow he felt an inner urge to do so. He needed to see what had happened to her.

With each additional photo he beheld, his eyes widened further in horror. There were more shots of her head from different angles, her skin blue and swollen from the beating; images from her upper body, from where this bastard had incised a number into her as if she was nothing but an object. Close-up pictures from her throat with the strangulation marks on it. More pictures of her full body, covered in long-dried blood. His eyes landed on the marks between her legs, signifying that she had been... Lucifer stopped himself from even thinking the word. He couldn't. Not when it came to her.

"What are you doing in here?" Ella's sudden voice brought him out of his stare, and only in this moment, he realised that his body was burning from the lack of oxygen. He took a deep gasp, filling his lungs halfway and bit back the bile that had crawled up his throat. He turned to her, unable to hold back the little sparks of teardrops that had gathered up at the corners of his eyes. "Who did this?" he breathed, shocked, horrified. His voice failed to continue.

Ella stared at him in confusion. His face was so pale and his eyes so big and dark that he rather looked like a figure right out of her nightmares. Her gaze wandered down to the photos he held in his hands. She didn't need to step up to him to know what he'd been staring at. "Put them back!" she cried frantically, and rushed to him, snatched them out of his hands and squatted down to hastily place them and the folder back into the box. "You're not even supposed to be in here!" she scolded him, pushing down her own distraught feelings at the new glimpse of them. She'd been there in the hospital treatment room, taking these photos from her friend when Chloe was barely conscious, using the little moment the doctors had granted her before they would rush her up into the operation room, to fix her ruptured spleen, to rescue her life. When she stood up again, she startled and took a step back. The horror on his face had disappeared completely, replaced by sheer wrath.

"Who did this to her?" Lucifer shouted loudly, enraged. He clenched his fists to prevent himself from letting out his anger on the first best thing that was close him.

She didn't know what to say. Her mind was blank, and she was frightened by the look on his face. But before she had the chance to even form something, a dead voice resounded behind them.

"Get out!" Chloe ordered gravely. Her expression was dead-panned and her eyes narrowed down to thin slits when she glanced over to Lucifer.

"Detective," Lucifer whispered, pleading, staring right at her. The anger vanished as quickly as it came, putting him back in his state of shock, and he felt more tears welling up at the corners of his eyes.

"Out!" Chloe shouted and with disdain turned her gaze from him. Without waiting for any reaction, she stepped out of the room, walked the short distance to Dan and ordered him with a harsh voice, "Get him out of here. I don't want to see him ever again." With that, she stomped off towards the restrooms, disappearing inside.

Pulling herself out of her own shock, Ella quickly rushed out of the room as well, past Dan, directly following Chloe.

Dan walked up to Lucifer. He grabbed his arm, commenting with hushed words, "Come on, man." They'd remained silent the whole way up to the parking deck. Only when Dan's hand was on the door handle, he turned to Lucifer and quietly told him, "It's better you leave now." With that, he pressed it down and opened the door.

When Lucifer saw the sun shining above him, blinding him for a moment, his mind started back its function, working at full speed. "No! I don't want to leave," he refused and pulled himself free, feeling pain and rage inside of him battling for the upper hand over his body. He pushed both emotions back down, at least as much as he could to talk to Dan without losing it right here. "I want to find the monster who did this to her!" he growled and clenched his teeth. When Dan kept a straight face, he stared at him in disbelief, slightly shaking his head. He neither couldn't nor didn't want to comprehend that this man remained so calm in this situation.

"That's already done," Dan explained to him dryly. Being in his police-mode, he didn't show any visible reaction when he added, "That man is rotting in prison for the next sixty years."

"Then why is there a new victim?" Lucifer countered, outraged. He stepped from one foot onto the other to release some of his tension, while his eyes focused on Dan, irately staring at him.

Dan sighed, and nodded, easing some of his stiff posture. "Seems like someone is copying him," he explained, letting some of the frustration about it sound through. When his mind wandered back to the heated discussion he had with Chloe and Monroe inside her office, he slightly shook his head. How convinced Chloe was that this couldn't be just a random guy. That this man must have something to do with Galant, the man who'd been convicted for what he'd done to her and the other three women. She even was convinced that he had a twin, as absurd as this sounded, because she believed that the woman was right about who she saw.

"This is all my fault," Lucifer suddenly mumbled, bringing Dan out of his thoughts. He didn't see the other man shake his head in disagreement. His mind only spun further, driven by the sorrow that had won over his inner battle, and he grabbed inside his pocket, retrieving the necklace and holding it in his hand. He took a glance at it. "I should have prevented it," he mumbled further and quickly bit back his tears from falling free.

"No, man!" Dan countered, shaking his head again in contradiction. "No one could have prevented it. You weren't even here." At the reminder, Dan felt his anger build up inside of him again, and he bit his tongue, preventing himself from saying anything else. He thought back to the talk he had with Linda, when he'd yelled at her that if Lucifer had been here, this never would have happened, and when she replied with a calm voice that this could have happened anywhere.

Lucifer shook his head. "Exactly!" he stated before his eyes shot back to Dan. "If I had been here, I could have prevented it! Because none of you did. You didn't protect her!" The rage was back inside of him and he glared at him darkly.

"Don't you dare blame me!" Dan countered, equally furious. "You don't know anything about what had happened." Taking a breath to compose himself and sort his thoughts, he quietly added, "I didn't know she was in danger. We thought she was safe."

Assuming that it had happened to her in her house, Lucifer mentioned, "Well, I'm going to have a long talk with Maze about keeping Chloe safe from now on when she's at home."

Dan chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief that Lucifer was so damn slow with putting two and two together before he mocked him, "You really think this happened at her home? That she could still live there when it really had been there?" Seeing Lucifer's perplexed stare and hearing his aghast words "Then where-", Dan narrowed his eyes at him, cutting him off as he spat back, "Where did you find the necklace?" With that, he turned around and walked back inside the precinct, leaving Lucifer behind, frozen in terror.

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When Ella entered the restroom, she saw Chloe pacing up and down the little space. She wanted to encourage her with some soothing words as Chloe's finger quickly shot up, silencing her before she had the chance to speak them out.

Chloe shook her head, her features painted in rage. She didn't want to hear anything. She didn't want to be told to calm down when she already tried so desperately not to lose it right here in the precinct. Each thought she felt entering her mind, each emotion she felt welling up inside of her, she'd pushed back. Because when she didn't feel anything at all, when she didn't think about anything, that was the moment she could function. And she needed to function. What else was left of her?

"Want me to drive you to Linda?" Ella softly suggested, remaining at the door to leave her friend as much space as she needed.

Chloe looked up, baffled for a moment before she vigorously shook her head. "I'm not going out there again. I don't want to see anyone of them," she countered in a hushed voice, indicating to all the colleagues inside the precinct. Then she stopped, stared with wide eyes at her friend, and with a little firmer voice, she added, "I don't want to see _him_." She turned her head back and started pacing again.

Knowing right away who she'd meant, Ella gave her a supportive smile and soothingly replied, sure of it, "Dan has already brought him up to the roof. And I have my keys to the emergency exit door near the lab," she let her know with a smirk and held up the item. "We could sneak out without being seen. I've parked across the precinct today."

Chloe looked back at her, needing to think only briefly about the offer before she gave her a firm, assenting nod.

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Linda was sitting at her desk, mixing her salad with yoghurt dressing, when suddenly her door was being ripped open. She looked up, startled, to see Chloe entering her office and slamming the door shut again behind her. "Chloe," she greeted her, surprised, but the smile on her lips quickly died down at the distraught look on her friend's face. "What happened?" she uttered, deeply worried.

There it was again. The feeling as if a haunting ghost floated through her, instigating all the emotions she'd locked away inside of her. And all of a sudden, they broke free. They crawled up on her like millions of little critters, setting her nerves on fire, and the urge to cry welled up her throat, making it impossible for her to speak or even breathe while the salty liquid went forward, seeking release through her eyes. She tried to push them back down again. To keep herself together like she'd managed so perfectly after she'd seen Lucifer's eyes in the evidence room: His eyes that went from purest anger, to surprise, to shock, and to... Her heart started to race, increasing the needed oxygen from her lungs and her chest bobbed up and down as she panted rapidly. Losing more and more control over her body, her fingers started to shake and her jaw began to tremble. When the realisation of what had happened just there at the precinct soaked further and further into her consciousness, it finally set her tears free, letting them stream down her cheeks, and she blubbered out, "He knows." She buried her face in her hands and sobbed loudly while her body convulsed by the frantic gasps she took in between her bitterly weeping.

Linda sprang up from her chair and bolted to Chloe, catching her collapsing figure just in time, and guided her to her couch. She sat her down close to herself and held her securely wrapped in her arms while Chloe cried her heart out.

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Lucifer didn't know how he'd managed to get back to his apartment without having an accident. He couldn't even remember the most part of the ride back to LUX. Maybe he'd been so used to this particular route that his subconsciousness had memorised every turn, every light he had to take to get here; or the people in L.A. were more attentive than he'd acknowledged them.

And now he was standing here, inside his penthouse, staring at the bed he'd still peacefully slept in not even six hours ago. But after he'd seen those pictures of Chloe, seen what this monster had done to her, and knew now that he was staring right at the place where it had happened, where someone so vicious, so evil, had scarred her soul so cruelly, had, within a moment, destroyed all that was sacred inside of her, now something inside of him broke as well.

It felt as if he was in a cloud. He knew he was standing right next to his bed, looking down at it, but at the same time, it felt as if he was far, far away. As if his mind was only communicating with his body over a thin line that connected both. Reaching down to the pillow, its satin cover stirred the nerve endings on the tip of his fingers. That was all he felt. There was nothing else. But there should be something! Anything!

His mind wandered back to the moment when he'd entered his apartment after he'd arrived in L.A. again. Everything had looked so neat. Nothing had indicated the crime that had been taken place just... When had this monster had attacked her? Was it really just three weeks? Lucifer highly doubted it and absent-mindedly shook his head. Her wounds wouldn't have healed in that short amount of time. Darn! He hadn't even registered the scar across her left eyebrow that surely must be there. And no superior, no matter how unemotional, would have ordered her or just let her back to work right after it had happened. The unknown about it tucked at his heartstrings. It sent an impulse through his body as if he was struck by lightning, from inside his chest right up into his brain and back down his spine again, setting each cell inside his body on fire. The noise of his increased panting came up to his ear. But it sounded as if from a distance. Why was he panting, all of a sudden? Was it because he didn't know when Chloe had been tortured almost to death in this very bed in front of him? Why did it even matter? Why did he want to know the exact day this had happened? It wasn't like he could have prevented it. Was this just a desperate attempt of his mind to make sense out of this?

As if on autopilot, he grabbed the pillow, zipped open its cover and pulled off the pillowcase, tossing it behind him to the ground. Then he turned it around in his hands, looking at both sides. There was nothing but the plain white colour of its fabric in front of his eyes and he wondered for a moment if he'd expected something else. He didn't know. Turning around, he tossed it across the living area, not caring in the slightest where it landed. Then he turned back, crouching down to reach for the pillow that lay further away and repeated the steps. This pillow was also plain white inside. When he reached for the blanket, he didn't even bother to remove its cover before he threw it across the room. Then he ripped off the bedsheet, stripping it down to the mattress.

Lucifer stared at the bed for a moment and walked around it, examining it from different angles. Still, nothing in the least pointed at the crime that had been taken place on it. Everything seemed fine. Everything seemed clean and new. Had Maze replaced them? Lucifer shook his head, clenching his fists, and gritting his teeth, his empty shell slowly getting filled with the rage that blubbered up inside of him. You can't just clean everything and replace it as if this had never happened! You can't just put everything back in its place as if it was fine again! "Because it wasn't! And it never will!"

Lucifer hadn't realised that he'd spoken his last two thoughts out loud, that he'd shouted them across the room. He sprang onto the mattress and rammed his hands into the material as if his fingers were sharp knives, ripping the fabric open, grabbing the foam and pulling it out. He went all over the mattress like a mad dog, yelling and screaming while he ripped off the material down to its metal springs. There was nothing that revealed the crime. No blood, no other sign. And it drove him crazy.

When he was done with completely destroying the mattress and tossing it out of the room, he turned to the frame. With full force, he kicked his foot down into it. It cracked loudly and quickly gave way under his weight. Then he turned to the next side and continued until the bed was shredded to pieces.

/-/

Chloe sat in the furthest corner of the couch, a hot tea in her hands, a blanket wrapped around her. Still, this didn't keep her body from shaking uncontrollably. Once again, Linda held a little pill out to her, assuring her that this one wouldn't make her sleepy, that it would only calm down her nerves, and when another wave of emotion washed over her body, pressing new tears out of her eyes, she finally grabbed it and quickly downed it with a sip of her tea.

"You'll feel better in a moment, believe me," Linda assured her in a soothing tone, sitting close to her and softly stroking her knees.

"No, I won't," Chloe contradicted and shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut and pushing out the remaining drops. "He knows," she quietly repeated her words from before, and again her jaw started to tremble.

Linda sighed and leant closer. Caringly, she pressed her warm hands down on her friend's knees, rubbing them to generate some extra warmth, and she calmly told her, "The worst part is behind you, Chloe." Taking another breath, she went on, "Believe me, he will understand."

"What will he understand?" Chloe cut her short, her head angrily shooting up, and she had almost spilt her tea across her hands at the sudden movement. She leant forward to put the cup on the coffee table, and when Linda grabbed the tea from her to place it down, Chloe sat fully up, pulled the sleeves of her sweater over her hands and wrapped her arms around her body. "He doesn't know what I've been through. He doesn't know how I feel. I don't even know how I feel myself. So, how is he supposed to understand anything?" she grumbled frustratedly, pushing down the desperate thoughts that soared up as well. Tears welled up in her eyes again, and she quickly wiped them off, sniffling audibly. "You didn't see the look in his eyes! You didn't see the," she halted and took a deep breath before she completed in disgust, "The pity!"

"I'm sure that, whatever it was in his eyes, it wasn't pity he felt for you," Linda contradicted her full-heartedly. "I know Lucifer. I know what he thinks of you, and what he feels about you. And I'm sure if anything, it was sympathy he felt for you in that moment, or sorrow. But pity... " she trailed off and shook her head, letting her friend end the sentence herself.

Chloe squinted her eyes and pushed the little voice down that wanted to believe her friend. She didn't want to think about Lucifer any longer. She didn't want to think about what had happened in the precinct at all. Changing the subject completely, she mentioned in a hushed tone, "There is someone out there, doing exactly what Galant had done." She fiddled with her fingers and alternately looked between the wall and the backrest. She was glad that Linda didn't say anything right now. That she was giving her the time to swallow down the lump that had formed before she could continue. "I'm not," her voice broke. She swallowed and sighed, trying to keep the shivering at bay that had increased again. "I can't-" she started, but again her voice broke.

Linda pushed her own fearful thought about that unexpected insight to the back of her head. Chloe needed her right now. And she definitely didn't need someone who wanted to know more about a new monster out there. She clasped her hands around Chloe's fingers, gently holding them wrapped in her own, and informed her, "I will call Maze. And I will tell Ella to drive you home and wait until Maze has arrived. And then, I want you to sleep."

Chloe vehemently shook her head, denying that she would follow that order. "I don't need rest," she insisted sternly. She just needed a clear head to go back to her work.

"Yes you do," Linda countered calmly. "Your body needs to regain its energy." When she saw the objection in her friend's eyes, mixed with fear, she softly assured her, "Don't worry, Chloe, nothing will happen to you. We will protect you."

Again, Chloe shook her head. "I can protect myself!" she declared firmly, but her eyes that were fixed on an invisible spot on the ground didn't show determination. They showed exhaustion. And worry.

Linda warmly rubbed her friend's arm. "I know you can protect yourself, Chloe. I know how strong you are and that you can do anything on your own." She leant down a little, locking her eyes with her friend as she added, "But you don't have to. OK? Let us help you. Let us keep you safe."

Chloe wanted to roll her eyes and say something in return but her body betrayed her. The medication had already started to work, calming her down, and with that slowing down her movements. This time, her body seemed to react stronger to the pill than usual, and she sighed. Maybe it really was time for her to rest. Nodding her head, she finally agreed and glanced up to Linda, who sent her a warm smile before she stood up and made the call.

/-/

"What the?" it slipped from Candy's lips as she made her way through the living area. There were pillows and blankets, their cases and the bed sheet lying around and when she walked closer to the bedroom, the path was covered in little pieces of foam and other textured material, in metal and wood and things she didn't know the name of. She walked closer and in between the completely destroyed remains of their bed she saw Lucifer sitting on the ground, facing the wall, and holding his hand at a particular spot. "Are you out of your mind?" she shouted, completely gobsmacked, and stepped closer, carefully, to circle the scraps.

Lucifer snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of her voice. He looked up at her, perplexed for a moment. Then, he glanced around, and instantly remembered what he'd done and why he was sitting there. He turned his sight back to the spot he'd been staring at since who knows when. He didn't remember how long it had taken, but he clearly remembered the moment he found it. The evidence. The proof that Chloe had been here, beaten, tormented, and left to fight for her life. His hand was still pressed against the wall, and the outstretched sides of his forefinger and thumb bordered half of an area where a little splatter of blood was right in the middle. The spot was small, its length barely reached from one side of his thumbnail to the other. It was obvious that with this size, hidden behind the bed frame, no one could have found it without moving the bed. For a brief second, he'd even wondered how it had managed to get there in the first place. Maybe it was a drop of blood from her necklace that had smeared against the wall when the jewellery had landed there and had fallen down. He didn't care now. All he cared about was that it was there and gave him a silent testimony of the crime.

"Lucifer, what are you doing?" Candy asked, flabbergasted, and once again pulled him out of his thoughts. When he looked back up, she didn't wait for his reply this time but started her scolding right away. "Why did you destroy the bed?"

Shaking himself out of his stiffness, he stood up, quietly commenting as he walked past her, "It was time for a redecoration." He gazed down at his hands. They were flawless, as always. No scratch by wood, or metal, or sharp plastic had left a mark on them. In this moment, he hated himself for it. He was furious that his body was indestructible to human tools. And even with Chloe at his side, or when it was a celestial weapon, his body would heal back to its pristine form. He wanted scratches right now. He wanted to have scars. He wanted to feel the pain...

"Where are we supposed to sleep?" Candy demanded to know. Her sharp voice went directly through his head, once again pulling him back into the here and now.

Lucifer looked at her, shrugging his shoulders. He couldn't care less about that minor detail. "We have Maze's old room," he suggested and walked up to his piano, grabbing the jacket he'd placed on top of it and putting it on.

"I'm not sleeping in Mazikeen's former bedroom," she denied sternly and shook her head, pushing the fear down that instantly came up with the reminder. With her arms folded in front of her chest, she lightly tapped with her foot on the ground, waiting for him to reply.

"Then take the couch," he retorted gravely in her direction, and turned around, heading for the lift.

When she saw him leaving, Candy quickly rushed after him. "Wait! Where are you going?" she asked worriedly.

"Have to make some arrangements," Lucifer mumbled, loud enough for her to hear. The lift doors opened and he stepped inside, facing her again as he went on, "I have to keep her safe."

"Who?" Candy uttered, but before she could get an answer the doors slid close again. She huffed, disappointed and vexed, and turned around, looking back at the mess on the floor. Breathing a deep sigh, she walked up to the bar, grabbing the first bottle available and pouring herself a drink. With the glass in hand, she walked over to the couch and slouched down on it, taking a sip as she grumbled, "Bloody!"

/-/

The doorbell rang, but Chloe was too slow to get up from the couch to keep her little weasel from rushing to the door and opening it.

"Lucifer!" Trixie shouted out and instantly beamed all over her face. She wanted to open the door further and let him inside, but her attempt was quickly blocked by the strong hands of her mother that had reached her side.

Lucifer looked down at Trixie, a wide grin on his face as well, as he greeted her back, "Hello, child."

"What do you want?" Chloe asked brusquely. She wanted to sound angry, or terrifying, but her body was still too exhausted to express any other emotion than tiredness. And so, all she could do was stare at him with a mixture of annoyance and fatigue.

Looking back up, Lucifer flashed Chloe a smile as well, albeit not as wide and as carefree, ignoring her expression for the moment. "I've noticed I've missed the offspring's birthday," he informed her casually and held up the bigger one of his two bags he was carrying in his hands.

"My birthday was three months ago," Trixie reminded him dryly and cautiously glanced up at her mother to check her mood before her eyes landed back on Lucifer.

"Exactly!" he replied cheerily and held the big bag towards her. When Trixie had taken the bag in both her hands, its size almost as big as her, he reached into his other bag, retrieved a small double chocolate cake and placed it on top of her bag, declaring brightly, "Happy birthday!"

Trixie put the big bag on the ground and opened it, peeking inside, curious of what she'd gotten. "Cool!" she called out when she spotted the All-American Doll, and her lips instantly stretched to a cheeky grin.

"Trixie, babe, can you please go to your room?" Chloe told her gently and assuringly smiled at her when her daughter sent her a wary glance. She didn't like it at all that Lucifer had shown up at this time of the evening to bribe her daughter with a doll, especially not since he knew damn well that neither Chloe nor Dan agreed to let their daughter have one of those. But right now she wasn't in the mood or condition to fight with him about it. Besides, her daughter had gone through enough because of her and didn't need to get in between another disagreement. Sensing no suspicion, Trixie nodded her OK, grabbed her bag and scurried off to her room. Before she could disappear inside, however, Chloe called her, "Trix?" When her child stopped and looked back at her, she calmly reminded her, "Didn't you forget something?"

"Right!" Trixie exclaimed quietly, put the bag down and rushed back to the door. With a loud thud, she bumped against Lucifer's legs and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Lucifer!" She looked up at him, saw his rather awkward and uncomfortable stare at her, and chuckled lowly. "Bye, Lucifer!" she briskly called out, let go of him and ran back to her present, grabbed it and disappeared into her room.

"Bye!" Lucifer replied cheerfully, but it was rather out of relief to not have those tiny arms around him any longer. He breathed a low sigh, and his gaze wandered up to Chloe's face, finding the same expression as before staring back at him. Not knowing how to start, he briefly stretched his lips to a constrained smile and glanced around the room. The awkward silence that had fallen between them didn't make it any better.

Having finally enough of him standing in the door frame, looking like all dressed up and nowhere to go, Chloe raised her voice, making it clear, "I don't want your pity."

"I'm glad I only brought you dinner, then," he retorted jokingly and held up the bag that was filled with little boxes of Chinese. He flashed her another nervous smile and waited for her reply. A gesture, or a word. But nothing came. Instead, she simply turned around and walked back to her couch, leaving the door open. Taking what he could get, he interpreted that as the most informal invitation possible and stepped inside, closing the door. He walked to the kitchen area, grabbed some cutlery, and then made his way over to where she was sitting.

Chloe was huddled up at the outermost edge of the couch, and Lucifer shortly sat down in the middle, put half of the boxes in front of her on the coffee table, placed the chopsticks and cutlery aside, and then took his seat at the other end of the couch. He put his boxes on the table as well, then grabbed his favourite one and his chopsticks and sat back, leaning against the backrest. Before he started to eat, he turned his head to her, friendly prompting, "Dig in!"

Chloe stared at the food. Damn it! By the smell that came from out of the boxes, she knew he'd brought her her favourite dish. Still, she couldn't bring herself to reach for it. "I'm not really hungry," she mentioned in a low voice and glanced over at him.

"Come on!" Lucifer countered in his usual bantering tone. "I'm pretty sure you haven't eaten yet," he remarked, spurring her on, but then he turned his attention to his own box, opened it and started eating. He kept his attention strictly on his own food to not make her feel uncomfortable or forced to eat in any way. When he did his third mouthful, a movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention. He silently cheered to himself when he saw her finally grabbing her box, opening it and taking the first bite.

He was right. She hadn't eaten yet. She hadn't eaten anything at all that day, to be exact. She couldn't. She only managed to keep her tea down. But she also knew, her body needed something nutritious to work. Cautiously, she chewed on her noodles, savouring their taste. It was so good! Then, she swallowed them down and waited for the feeling of nausea to kick in again. But this time, it didn't happen. Even after the second bite, there was nothing except for the hunger within her that told her to keep eating. And so, she dug in. Slowly, bite for bite, until half of the box was empty.

Normally, she would have eaten the whole box and half of the next one by now, but suddenly something made it hard for her to swallow. The silence that had fallen between them and had been so comfortable in the beginning, had also allowed her thoughts to crop up into her mind and run around wildly. It wasn't just because of what had happened today that suddenly choked her up. Especially how she'd treated him yesterday played a big part in it: She'd yelled at him all day, but instead of being angry at her, he helped her to get into the hospital room. That she'd managed to calm down after what this woman had told her, was also mainly because of him. And how did she thank him? She yelled again and slapped him in the face. It wasn't even him she'd been angry at in this moment. Still, this morning he came to her, all nice, offering to forget the whole thing... But again, she yelled at him. And after he'd seen what had happened to her... Linda was right. He seemed genuinely upset about it. She was sure he also wanted to talk about it. Why else would he show up at her doorsteps, bringing her dinner? But instead of chattering away like he'd used to do back then when something tickled his mind, he remained silent. He waited... until she was ready.

"Detective?"

His sudden voice next to her ear shook her back into the here and now. She hadn't even realised that he'd moved closer to her and that he now gently removed her hands from her box and put it on the coffee table. Why did he do that? The answer came instantly when she lowered her eyes and saw her trembling hands.

"Detective?" Lucifer softly called her again and smiled warmly at her as she looked at him. When he'd glimpsed over to her, he was startled to see her like this: Her body stiff like a poker except for the shake of her fingers; her eyes wide and blankly staring into space, and her skin pale as if all blood had suddenly ebbed out of her head. He'd been worried. He still was. But at least, now she was responsive again.

Chloe lowered her head again, blinking to push down the beginning of little teardrops that had surged into her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered and breathed in, trying to get herself back under control.

Pursing his lips to a thin line, he lightly shook his head, disagreeing with her. "There is no need for you to be sorry," he told her in a hushed voice. Two teardrops rolled out of her eyes, down her cheeks, and he tenderly brushed them off with his thumbs.

"There is," she countered quietly, and snuffled to keep the other tears inside. "I slapped you. And I'm so sorry for that." Although her apology eased her heart, it also set free the other guilt feelings that weighed her down. "And I'm sorry for yelling at you, every single time. And for kissing you. Gosh! That was so inappropriate. And for jumping on you. And for biting you. And for trying to sleep-"

"Stop. Stop. Stop," Lucifer interrupted her, raising his finger to underline his word. He took a deep breath, exhaled again, looked directly into her eyes, and calmly replied, "I accept your apology for the slap." He halted a moment, making sure that she was listening before he went on, "But don't you dare apologise for that kiss you gave me." Tilting his head, he meekly suppressed the smirk that wanted to stretch his lips as he added, "Or any of the other things you did."

Chloe sighed relieved. She felt better. Much better now that it all was finally off her chest. She nodded at him, assuring him that she'd understood. When the movement caused fresh tears to escape her eyes, running down, she quickly pressed them shut. His softly whispered shush sounded close to her and quickly after, she felt his warm hands on her cheeks again, wiping her tears away. She leant into the touch, relishing it for a moment before she opened her eyes again. She felt safe. And she really had no reason to get frightened, but when she got sight of his body leaning into hers, she couldn't help but get completely stiff again. Her arms shot out and pushed against his chest until they were fully stretched. Any moment she expected a scolding from him, or any other sign that he wasn't pleased with her reaction, but none of them came. Only a whispered "It's OK" reached her ears, so softly that she wasn't sure if it came out of him or her mind. When she felt his body slowly shifting away from her hands, she was frightened anew. This time for the complete opposite reason. She grabbed his shirt, tightly holding onto the fabric with all strength that was in her, and whispered as loudly as her voice allowed her to, "Stay!"

"I won't go anywhere, " Lucifer assured her calmly and encompassed her hands as he went on, "Detective". Her hands were shaking again, and her fingers gripped his shirt as if it was a lifeline. He gently caressed across the knuckles, tracing each one of them with his thumb, carefully, as if her hands were made out of ice and every too strong pressure could harm them. "I will stay with you," he reassured her, staring at her full of worry.

Chloe nodded again but gripped his shirt tighter. She didn't want him to leave. Never again. And the realisation let new tears gush out through her closed lids. She leant into him. She wanted to bury her face into the crook of his neck, wanted to snuggle up until their bodies would melt together, but when the fragrance of his aftershave mixed with smoke and bourbon hit her nostrils, stirring up her memories, she quickly pushed herself away. This wasn't fair! She finally had him back, yet she couldn't bear having him close to her. Anger and despair welled up inside of her, fighting a battle within her, and she clenched her teeth and sobbed loudly. She quickly pulled one hand away to cover her face, hating it at that very moment to have a breakdown right beside him. Still, just the thought of him shifting further away from her let her fingers tighten until her knuckles turned white, and her heart convulse in fear.

Lucifer breathed a low sigh. He'd wanted to wrap her in his arms, to give her back the feeling of safety and warmth, and her hand that still held onto him so tightly affirmed him that she wanted the same. But whenever he came closer, or just slightly leant into her, she only shied away and tensed up. He didn't know how he could help her. And it made him feel lost and forlorn. He held both his hands wrapped around hers, kept on stroking across her knuckles, and in a brief moment, her grip softened. Like two magnets drawn to each other, their fingers quickly intertwined. He squeezed them gently, assuring her that he was there without interrupting the silence. And while he held her hand against his heart, his thumb not ceasing in the slightest with its caress of the outer line of hers, he watched her weeping softly. He leant against the backrest, his body as close to her as she allowed him to, and he waited, patiently, for her to calm down herself.

When her cries finally subsided, Chloe took several more calming breaths, exhaling the rest of her emotions, and letting in some peace into her heart. She sniffed audibly and wiped her face dry with the back of her hand. Then, she huddled back up against the couch and wrapped her free arm around her knees. "Thank you," it quietly left her lips and she glanced over at him, flashing him a brief smile.

"You're welcome," he replied softly and gave her hand another gentle squeeze. He took several breaths himself, slowly exhaling them through his nose, and when he had gathered up enough courage, he broke the new silence. "Let's find that bastard!" he declared, determined, but with a calm voice.

Chloe lowered her sight, sighed and nodded. She'd liked nothing better than that. Nevertheless, when she looked up at him, she shook her head and denied sorrowfully, "I'm not on the case." Taking another tension-releasing breath, she explained, "They made it pretty clear this morning, that if I won't step aside, I'll get suspended."

"What do you prefer: Finding that filthy excuse of a human being, or working your butt off in the precinct?" he countered, his own inner feelings too troubled to let him add his usual smug smile.

For Chloe, the answer was pretty clear. But she also had to keep in mind that she still had her own case to solve. "That would mean, I can't work on the church murder, then," she reminded him of the extent such an unpaid leave would have. Especially for him.

Lucifer pursed his lips and lowered his head to browse through his thoughts. His mother always had a card up her sleeve. That wasn't new. And right now he'd rather spend his time getting revenge for Chloe, than making sure that his mum kept her nose out of his business. Turning his head back to her, he gave her a quick nod and a soft squeeze of her hand, and asked further, "So, how do we track down that coward?"

She sighed again and pulled her knees closer until she could rest her head on top while she thought about it. Not about the next step, of course. She knew exactly what she had to do. She just wasn't quite certain if she'd have the strength to carry through.

Preoccupied, she didn't realise that she'd also pulled at her other hand, and with their fingers still firmly intertwined, Lucifer had no other choice than to let her drag his hand close to her. Not that he'd mind! He smiled lightly when he felt the warm side of her upper body pressed against the back of his hand, delighted and at ease about the new contact. Thinking about an answer himself, he rummaged in his head. When he remembered the brief talk he had with Dan up on the roof, he turned his head back to her and wondered, "Does this guy you'd already caught might know who this other guy is?"

His voice pulled her out of her mind and Chloe quickly turned to him, nodding her affirmation. "Most definitely! There were certain things they didn't tell the media back then, so this other man must have this information directly from Galant." She swallowed hard when she pressed that name through her lips. Back then, she'd thought it finally was over. That she never had to think about this man, this monster, ever again. But now... She inhaled, and then, reminding herself that Lucifer might not know who he was, she quickly added, "That's the one who-."

She didn't need to complete her sentence as Lucifer nodded and interrupted in a friendly way, "I know who you're talking about." He wetted his lips and then went on, "You can tell me which prison he is in and I'll pay him a visit."

"It's not that easy," she objected, already wincing at the thought.

Lucifer raised both his eyebrows in puzzlement. "What? Do you think I can't get the information out of him?" Before she even had the chance to answer him, he quickly added, "I can be very persuasive, if you remember." He winked at her, sending her a bright smirk as he added in his mind, ' _And how persuasive I will be to make that bastard talk!'_

Chloe shook her head. "That's not what I meant, Lucifer. Dan has already requested a visit with Galant." She took a deep breath, braced herself up, and then explained to him, "His lawyer made him understand that Galant would only talk to one person." She swallowed again, nervous at Lucifer's sudden wary glance at her, and then pronounced, "Me."

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, I hope you liked that chapter. Please let me know. And also let me know how you feel right now.

Have a nice day!

:o)


	5. Everything in turn

**A/N** : Hello my dear readers. Now we've finally reached chapter 5, already half of the whole story itself. I hope you're all still with me and that you'll enjoy this particular chapter very much. It will take a while for me to upload the next one. I have a lot to do in RL and I want to finish and upload the not-so-happy-ending of my other story first. So, I hope you will patiently wait until the next one is up :D

This chapter was **beta-read** by Daemon. Thank you so much for it. You're an enrichment for the soul and it's always a pleasure to work with you. All remaining mistakes are my own, but feel free to point them out.

Enjoy!

* * *

 _Everything in turn_

o ~ o

 _A regular beeping sound was the first thing Chloe noticed when she slowly regained consciousness. Something cold was around her cheeks and nose, and it blew fresh air into her nostrils. She inhaled deeper, and almost cried out at the instant pain in her chest when her lungs expanded. Reflexively, she tried to shift her limbs but neither that was possible without immediately getting the_ _con_ _firmation that literally her whole body was aching. So she decided that just for the moment, lying there and doing nothing but taking low breaths would be the best option while she tried to get further impressions of her surroundings that her senses provided her with. She concentrated on her hearing and realised that it was quiet, except for the beeping that had woken her up and now resounded with a faster rhythm. Slowly, she opened her lids. They felt like heavy rocks she had to lift with too little strength, but eventually, she managed to get her eyes fully open. She looked around the room. It was bright, but the light clearly wasn't natural. And it felt warm around her. Cautiously moving her head to the other side, she made out the outline of a figure close to her, and she was instantly frightened. She tried to move away, but the slight jolt directly sent a sharp pain through her body and made her groan._

 _"Shush, Chloe. It's me, Dan," he assured her with a worry-stricken voice. He leant forward, reaching for her hand that was lying in front of him. But when he barely touched the skin, Chloe hastily pulled her arm away._

 _The movement sent another flash of ache through her and Chloe hissed painfully. She lowered her arm again, close to her body, and fixed her sight on his blurred figure. It got clearer the more she concentrated and then when the outlines sharpened, she saw him properly in front of her. He looked exhausted: Dark rings circled his eyes, and his expression was full of concern. Taking another hurtful breath to fill her lungs and prepare herself for speaking, she eventually uttered in a raspy voice, "Where am I?"_

 _Dan straightened in his seat. "You're in the hospital," he explained calmly and made another attempt to encompass her hand. Again, she_ _withdrew_ _from him, even if the move clearly caused her pain, and, sighing sorrowfully, he decided to leave it at that. He knew that she needed to rest right now. But it was such tremendous luck that she cheated death, that he wanted nothing more than to hear her voice, to keep her talking to him and soothe his own fright. But how should he start? The first question that had popped into his mind was 'How are you?' He quickly dismissed that as a ridiculous option since the answer was so obvious in front of him. How's she supposed to be after what she'd been through? Did she remember what had happened? He caught himself hoping that she didn't. Even if this would make it more difficult to catch this bastard_ _who was_ _responsible for it, he truly hoped that this whole night had been erased from her memory. His train of thoughts was abruptly interrupted when he saw her slowly raising her hand. "You need anything?"_

 _Chloe ignored his question. Her attention was focused on her fingers. They were red and sore. Especially the tips under and around her fingernails hurt as if someone had scraped off the skin with a scalpel. She moved her head to look down_ _at_ _the rest of her body, but she hadn't even enough strength to lift it, not to mention bearing the pain that emerged at the move. Letting her head drop back_ _o_ _nto the pillow, she turned her attention back to her ex, asking him quietly, "How bad is it?"_

 _Dan took a long breath. He shirked from her view as he braced himself and answered, "You have two broken ribs. They missed your lungs by a hair's breadth. The physicians had to fixate them so they wouldn't puncture your lung when you breathe." He swallowed, calling back the facts_ _into his mind_ _the doctor had told him yesterday right after surgery, to explain to her with as much accuracy as possible. "Your spleen had been ruptured. But the capsule around was still intact. The doctor said that this had saved your life." His voice broke, and he swallowed again to push back the tears that welled up. His hand went up to his eyes, brushing away the drops that had sneaked up, and then, taking another deep breath, he went on, "They managed to preserve most of your spleen. But it will take a long time for you to heal." When the surgeon had told him about all the parts that were broken or ruptured inside her body, he didn't leave out to mention every time that each part alone could have caused her death. Especially after the long period of time, she'd been lying there in this bed. It was a miracle that she still was alive. She was a miracle. Just like Maze had told him when he broke down after the doctor's words and she'd tried to comfort him. He didn't imagine it ever possible, but the words she'd spoken had actually given him hope. 'Don't worry,' she'd said to him, 'God's not that stupid and let_ _s_ _her die. She will make it.'_

 _Chloe listened attentively to him and waited for him to continue, but when he stopped and lowered his gaze, she frowned. "Nothing else?" she mumbled sceptically. Just broken ribs and a ruptured spleen wouldn't explain why all her limbs hurt like hell as soon as she tried to move them. It wouldn't explain why her head ached as if a truck had run over it, and that she couldn't even speak without feeling sore. And it also wouldn't explain why she didn't feel anything below her navel. Nothing, except for her chest, head, and arms when she moved them. As if the rest didn't exist any longer... And this also didn't concur with the bits of memory that shot into her head._

 _Taking another deep breath and exhaling it audibly, Dan looked across the room, unsure of whether he should tell her everything that was injured inside of her, everything that would need a lot of time to heal; if it would at all. And he wasn't just thinking about the physical injuries she'd suffered. "We're so glad that you're alive," he breathed with relief. There was no reaction to his words. No stir, no raise of her lips, not even a change in the expression in her eyes. She stared at him as if they were at a crime scene, completely emotionless, expecting him to fill her in with the facts of what_ _had_ _happened. He couldn't tell her what had happened to her. He didn't want to. So he stuck to the things her doctor had listed, "You have a severe concussion. Some of your skull and jawbone are cracked, but not completely fractured, thank God."_

 _"Don't thank him," Chloe brusquely cut him short. "God wasn't there," she commented dryly and closed her eyes, pushing down the pictures that her brain presented her. She shook her head and winced as the ache increased right away._

 _When he saw her face contorted with pain, Dan quickly grabbed the emergency button, pressing it to call a nurse. He wanted to say something encouraging or soothing, but before his mouth was able to form the words in his head, Chloe's voice rose again. "I've seen him," he heard her mumble and instantly his whole body froze. He swallowed and quickly shook himself out of his stare. "What?" he_ _asked_ _, frightened of her answer._

 _"I've seen this bastard who did this to me," Chloe repeated, this time her voice was louder and steadier. "It's the same guy who did this to the two victims we've found, right?" She_ _looked_ _at him expectantly. He didn't answer. Driven by anger that crawled up on her, she probed further, "Am I one of the victims?"_

 _Dan nodded lightly, and then, with a hushed voice, he confirmed, "Yes. The wounds are identical to those of the others. You're... number three," he added, too afraid to speak out the other obvious things._

 _The door to their room opened and a nurse came inside, saving them both from further talking about this topic. "Do you need anything, ma'am?" she_ _inquired_ _friendly, addressing Chloe._

 _Dan turned around to her, glad that he could avert his sight from Chloe's beaten-up face. "Yes, my-" he stopped himself. He didn't quite know how to address her at this moment. Technically they were already divorced but was it appropriate to point this out in such a situation? Not knowing for sure but deciding that it was better to stay with the facts, he went on with a heavy tone, "- ex-wife, she's in pain."_

 _The nurse nodded, gave him a quick smile and then walked over to the other side of the bed. She withdrew a syringe from out of her pocket and injected its content into the plug on Chloe's hand tube. "This should help to ease it up," she explained and turned around to the bag filled with liquid that was hanging from the stand. She_ _reached_ _for the clamp that was adjusted to the tube a little below the bag, checking the drip chamber's flow rate. Giving herself an approving nod, she turned to Chloe, sending her a sympathetic smile, and telling her warmly, "The doctors will come to you later. Then they'll discuss with you about self-administering your pain medication. Alright?" she waited for her to give her affirmation, before she smiled again, turned around, and with a friendly "Bye" in their direction, left the room again._

 _The painkillers worked very quickly and Chloe felt her body aching less until it stopped completely, leaving her with just a numb sensation in her bones. She exhaled relieved and turned her attention back to Dan. Pushing herself slightly up on her pillow, she locked away all her inner thoughts and emotions and repeated sternly, "I've seen that bastard. I can describe him. Get me a sketch_ _artist_ _. ASAP! This monster won't get another victim!"_

 _"Chloe," replied Dan soothingly, looking around the room to avoid direct eye contact. The sound of his voice made very clear that he was reluctant to follow through with her order. "Don't you want to concentrate on your healing first?" he calmly suggested._

 _She instantly narrowed her eyes and glared at him in anger. "It's been two weeks since the last murder. And now he's officially a serial rapist and killer. I don't want to wait until he has his hands on the next victim. I want that monster behind bars. As fast as possible! Get me that sketch artist, Dan!" she ordered once again, any emotion drained from her voice except for her rage._

 _He sighed but nodded in agreement. It was better not to discuss with her in this state, anyway. He stood up from the chair and informed her warmly, "Trixie is outside."_

 _Any further words were instantly cut off by Chloe. "No!" she denied strictly and shook her head as much as the restriction in her movement allowed her to. "I don't want her to see me like this!"_

 _"Sure 'bout that?" Dan_ _rechecked with her_ _, slightly irritated by this unusual demand, but he could also understand her to the fullest. He himself wasn't sure if his daughter should really see the visible injuries of this vicious attack._

 _Chloe nodded decisively. And how sure she was! She'd seen how the two victims had looked after their deaths. Beaten beyond recognition. And she remembered how this man had beaten her up. Surely she was looking similar right now, and she didn't want her daughter to scream or cry in fright. "Tell her that I love her very much," she told him, her voice filled with the affection she had for her child. "And that I will be better soon, then she can come visit me."_

 _Dan nodded again, sending her an assuring smile. "Of course, Chloe." He wanted to lower himself and give her a kiss on the head, but the instant jerk she did at the beginning of his move let him stiffen. He straightened back and nodded, to reassure himself rather than her that he'd understood and accepted her wish. Smiling apologetically at her, he said his goodbye, and turned around, leaving the room._

 _When he was gone, Chloe relaxed into the bed and straightened her head, looking at the ceiling. She exhaled the emotions she'd held back all this time, finally letting them out. Squeezing her eyes shut in reflex as the tears flooded them, she moved her hand up to her face. As gently as possible she ghosted across her features, wincing at the slightest touch of her fingertips, but slowly she could picture herself in her head. Her whole left side seemed swollen. It was a wonder that she still could look through both her eyes properly. When more memories rushed into her head, providing her with more insight of what had happened, low sobs escaped her throat, slowly getting louder. She quickly covered her mouth, not wanting anyone outside to hear as she wept bitterly._

o ~ o

Chloe wasn't prepared for this! She knew she would go to the prison and have an eye-to-eye talk with Galant the moment she told Lucifer last night, that she would do it. But for heaven's sake, she didn't expect this moment to come that fast. Normally, they would have to file an application and only then they could visit an inmate. Even with flashing the batch this would have taken three days at least. But now, not even 14 hours later, she was standing in front of the prison Galant was in.

She took a deep breath, folded her arms in front of her chest and stared at the visitors' entrance. When she spotted Lucifer appearing in her visual field, the words he'd told her yesterday resounded in her ears. ' _Just leave it with me. There is someone who owes me a favour_ ,' was all he'd said before he wished her a good night and left. Troubled by her emotions, she'd walked right up into Maze's room, working the punching bag beyond the point of exhaustion, and then, when she was back in her own room, she fell asleep almost immediately. Luckily!

And then he stood there, this morning, at not even eight, breaking her the news that they had a visiting appointment at ten. Of course! She should have known that somehow he'd manage to get their visiting permission even past the official line. But that fast? How in all world did he do that? At least Maze had agreed on taking care of Trixie so she wouldn't need to worry about her daughter. Her mind was completely occupied with what was lying ahead at that moment, anyway.

She squinted her eyes to keep the sunlight from entering her pupils as she studied the man who was standing in front of the fence, looking back at her and waiting patiently. He could be a jerk sometimes, a complete dick even if she was honest with herself, but right now she wouldn't want anyone else standing at her side. Because she knew it was more than trust between them, she knew that when it mattered, Lucifer would be there for her, and protect her. Nodding to herself, she exhaled again and then closed up on him.

"You sure you want to be inside there as well?" he calmly asked when she was at his side, once again reassuring himself. Seeing her firm nod, he allowed himself to speak out the questions he didn't dare to voice during the ride up to here, mostly because she'd insisted on driving, and he didn't want to end in a roadside ditch. After taking a deep breath and with a low, concerned voice, he began, "Did you testify against him in court?"

Chloe shook her head and inhaled until her lungs were stretched out, waiting with giving her answer as she showed her batch and ID to the first guard outside. When he nodded and gestured them to enter the building, she walked ahead, gripping the door handle and holding it open for Lucifer to go through first. "Didn't have to," she informed him when he was past her. She stepped inside, listened to the sound of the door falling shut behind them, and added, "They made a deal with him. He pleaded guilty, and in return, he got 60 years."

Lucifer stared back at her, his expression painted in disbelief and rage. "With all the evidence?" he burst out, barely holding back his anger. "I mean four victims. You could identify him. Why go for a deal? Why not demanding death penalty?"

"There were no fingerprints of him anywhere because he probably wore gloves. Also, no residues of skin tissues to identify him with because he used a scalpel to clear each nail afterwards. And also no bodily fluids because he used... " she trailed off, letting Lucifer fill in the words himself. She followed him to the guard that was sitting behind a glass panel, waited until he had signed the visitors' list, and then stepped up, showing the man her ID card before signing next to her name. The nervousness crept up on her and she quickly pulled her sleeves over her fingers, hiding her hands as she took a seat next to Lucifer, waiting until they would be called in. She swallowed down the lump that had formed in her throat. "I didn't want this prick to die," she told him with a hushed voice. "I wanted him to live the rest of his life in prison. And I'll make sure that he'll stay inside until he's 90." She glanced over to Lucifer, seeing him nodding understandingly, his lips pursed to a thin line, his sight fixed on the floor, assuring her that his whole attention was on her, without making her uncomfortable by staring. She glanced around the room, at its off-white coloured walls, the plastic chairs, the surveillance cameras in each corner. This place gave her the creeps already, and she hadn't even stepped into the security area yet.

"I haven't seen anything on the news," Lucifer whispered suddenly. He cleared his throat and turned his head to her, looking at her but avoiding direct eye contact. "I've watched the news each day, especially when something came up from around L.A., and I remember seeing a brief report of a rapist and murderer getting convicted, but none of the reports had said anything about a police detective involved. If I had known," he halted, suddenly unable to complete the sentence. He rephrased it, "I would have come back instantly if I had known that," he stopped again, apologetically looking at her for his failure to speak.

Chloe shook her head. "I'm glad they kept me out of this. That not only Dan but also Monroe made sure that my name wasn't seen anywhere. That's why I also agreed with them making a deal and not pressing for more. I didn't want anyone to know what had happened to me. I didn't want to see my face plastered all over the news as a personalised victim. I didn't want reporters in front of my house, invading my privacy, just because their perception of a good story justified to exploit my very existence." Chloe shook her head again. "I wasn't ready for that." After a moment of silence, she added mumbling, "And I wanted him to suffer every day... Just like I do."

Lucifer was barely able to process her words as a loud click of a door being unlocked disrupted his focus. He looked to the side, seeing a guard holding open a barred door, beckoning them over. He turned his eyes back to Chloe, intending on telling her that he didn't miss hearing those important, whispered words, but she was already up and walked towards the man. He had no other choice than to follow her. When they were inside the next room, the guard locked the door again and gestured them to the back of the room. On a counter stood a little plastic box, and he told them to put all personal belongings into it: Wallets, money, phones, watches, rings. Even the Detective's batch and gun had to be put inside. Then, he told them to spread their arms for a pat-down search. "No way!" Lucifer objected right away, instinctively stepping between Chloe and the guard. "Where are your female guards? Isn't there a woman supposed to do a pat-down on any female visitor?" he questioned him warily.

"Cost cuts," the guard only replied and shrugged his shoulders. "They fired half of the staff because they couldn't afford them any longer. They even cut a part of our salary. There's nothing we can do about it." Seeing Lucifer's sharp glare sent at him, he added truthfully, "I'm not a perv or so."

"I wasn't implying at you being a perv," Lucifer countered back and towered over the man. "I was implying at the inadequacy of you touching a strange woman."

"It's fine, Lucifer," Chloe interrupted him, slightly brushing against his arm to get his attention. "It won't take long, right?" she asked and looked at the guard who nodded assuringly. All she wanted was to get this day behind her as fast as possible. And she knew, there was no way around. Stepping in front of Lucifer, she kept both her arms raised, holding still while the guard started to pat her down: First her arms, then he squatted down, patting along her legs, across her belly, only sparing her breasts. She clenched her fists and pressed her teeth together, silently counting down from thirty, pushing her emotions and thoughts back at the feeling of his hands on her. When he gestured her to turn around, she did as told, pressing her eyes shut as the man went across her back. Finally, it was over, and she breathed a low sigh of relief as she stepped aside. Her sight was fixed to the next locked door they had to pass while the guard repeated his moves on Lucifer's body.

When both were cleared, the guard opened the next door, letting them through and closing it again before he walked ahead to the next gate, letting them through as well, before the next barrier was opened by another guard, admitting them. The door that fell shut behind them wasn't barred. It was solid, with only a small window to look through and an instant feeling of being trapped spread out inside of her. When the guard walked past them, up to the door that was on the side, he announced that the inmate had already been brought into the visitor's room. He wanted to open the door, but Lucifer raised his hand, gesturing him to give them a minute before he turned around to Chloe. She'd pressed herself into his side the further they walked up to the room, and right now, she was stiff like a poker. He clearly saw that she did anything possible in her power to hold it together. "I can go alone in there, Detective," he hushed, concerned for her wellbeing. "Don't worry, I'll make him talk."

Chloe shook her head as much as her tensed muscles allowed her to. "If I don't stick to my side of the deal he will back out on any further ones and we might need to revisit him." She heard his soft whispered "You sure?" and nodded her head, determined. She swallowed, calling herself to order once again. "Just, stay close, would you?" she whispered, and the fear let her voice shake.

"Of course, Detective!" Lucifer assured her resolutely. "I won't leave your side." He fought back the urge to wrap his arms around her or lean forward and give her a warm kiss on the head. Instead, he only sent her a sympathetic smile, before he turned back to the guard. With a firm nod of his head, he gestured him to open the door.

The man that greeted him, sitting there, looked neat, with an everyday face, and if he didn't know himself what this monster had done, he would never have guessed it. Still, the smell of his sins lingered on that prick as if he'd bathed in them, and Lucifer had to keep himself from lunging forward and showing that man who he was dealing with right now. But the Detective was right behind him, and under no circumstances was she to see his real face. Never! She was too important for that. He walked closer to the man, making sure that all the time he was right in front of Chloe, shielding her view until the very end when he pulled out the chair for her, keeping it at a distance away from the desk, and gestured her to sit. He turned to her, and almost keeled over at her expression. Nothing hinted at the near meltdown just outside the room. She was completely in police mode, her features firm and emotionless, her posture professional and distant, only her narrowed eyes revealed the hate and fear she felt. When she sat down, Lucifer hastily composed himself and turned to his chair, pulling it out. He made sure that his chair remained closer to the desk so that when he sat down and slightly leant forward, he would shield half of the Detective's view. And he did lean forward. He straightened himself as much as possible, ensuring that his posture was as intimidating as it could be in this sitting position, and placed his outstretched hands to both sides. "Let me get this one thing straight," he started with a grave voice. "The only reason you're still in one piece is because the Detective is sitting here next to me. If you look at her, or talk to her, or just breathe wrongly, I will ignore that fact and give you a glimpse of what you will expect down in hell. Understood?" he questioned with the most terrifying calm tone he'd ever spoken.

Galant looked over at him, flashing him an arrogant smile, and flatly countered, "I want to see it."

Lucifer quickly swallowed down the question of _what_ he wanted to see before it could leave his lips, and riposted furiously, "You don't get to claim any demand! You will only open your mouth when I ask a question. Is that understood?"

"I want to see her number," Galant replied instead, tilting his head and grinning at him smugly.

If this had been any other circumstance, he would have been impressed at how this human being bent his rules to his own needs. But this wasn't any other circumstance! This was about Chloe! And about what this bastard had done to her! And that this man still showed such complacency let his blood boil. He had to clench his fists to keep himself from plunging forward and beat the life out of this filthy piece of meat. Lucifer stood up from his seat and bent over, supporting himself on his outstretched arms as he glared at the man, dangerously dark. He was about to yell more threats at him when a hand gripped his left forearm, stopping him in mid-air. Her hand was so soaked in sweat, that he'd felt it through the fabric of his shirt. He turned around to Chloe, and, with the same amount of sympathy and affection as he'd just shown hatred and disdain towards the other man, he looked at her. His mouth was slightly ajar and he wanted to form the word ' _what?_ ' when he saw Chloe tipping her head to the side, gesturing him to sit down. Reluctantly, he gave her a short nod, and then silently sat back.

Chloe stared with dead eyes at the man. Right in the moment when Lucifer had stepped aside and she saw his loathsome grin towards her, she felt something was off, but she couldn't pin it down. And she sensed it still when he stared at her so full of gleeful anticipation while her fingers pulled down the zip of her jacket, opened it and grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling it down until her scar was revealed. She didn't take her eyes off of his features, as much as they induced nausea in her. And then, when he got sight of her scar, her number, she finally knew what was so odd in the beginning. His grin turned into a genuine smile, to one of those one received when someone knew them. His eyes gleamed with delight and his tongue darted forward, automatically wetting his lips. That was the reaction she'd expected from him right when she'd entered the room. And that he only showed it now, confirmed to her that he hadn't recognised her. It had been barely eight weeks since he'd done this to her. Had he really only forgotten her? Forgotten how she had looked before he attacked her? Only remembered her by a number? Horror crawled up on her, and added up to the disgust and loathing she felt for this man. She quickly covered herself, pulling her zip back up as she demanded gruffly, "And now talk!"

Lucifer glanced at her from out of the corners of his eyes. He was impressed by the calmness that radiated from her, but also deeply worried because he knew this was all just a show. Right below the mask, she was terrified. When he turned his gaze back to the man opposite of them, his sight briefly fell onto the hands he'd put onto the table: Galant was gripping the material firmly and made back-and-forth movements with his fingers, revealing his arousal. He stared at him, disgusted to see that this prick had the effrontery to use her as a turn-on. With a loud bang, he smashed his clenched fists onto the table, getting Galant's attention as he rose back to his full height. "You stare at her a second longer and this is the last thing you'll see for the rest of your life," he warned him deadly serious.

Galant blinked slowly and then stared up at Lucifer with a bored expression. He shrugged his shoulders, unimpressed by this behaviour. Taking a low breath, he tilted his head, flashing him a hostile smile and then replied calmly, "What do you want to know?"

"Who did you tell all of your creepy little details?" replied Lucifer and sat back down on his chair, shifting it slightly so he was even closer to Chloe. His hands remained spanning across the whole length of the table, defining the barrier between them and this bastard.

Galant licked his lower lip again, chuckled lightly, and then started to tell, "You know that I grew up as a single child, of single-child parents. They died when I was in my late teens, and with my grandparents too old to take care, I was pretty much on my own since I was 19."

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough," Lucifer interrupted him. "I'm not a preacher who came here to hear your story of life! I want to know who you'd told about the killings?"

This time, Galant's smile vanished completely from his face. He glared at him and spat back, "If you want to know then listen!" Getting Lucifer's agreeing nod, accompanied by a death-glare and a low growl, he went on, "My parents were missionaries down in South Africa while my mother was pregnant. My grandparents highly disagreed with them flying down there to help build these camps and schools. But they did it nevertheless. So they knew, if anything would happen to them or their unborn child, they would get blamed for it, not only from their parents but also from their friends and neighbours who happened to listen to my grandparents' every word. And like it was bound to happen, around her date of delivery, there were complications with the baby. The hospital they were in was poorly equipped and even whilst the doctors tried anything possible the baby died shortly after she gave birth." He halted, taking a deep breath and his expression changed from that of disinterest to that of sympathy. "They knew if they would come back without a baby that their parents would never forgive them. And it also happened that in said hospital, there was a mother, all on her own and too poor to even buy herself proper clothes, but she'd given birth to two healthy little boys. My parents gave her money for one of her sons. She knew she couldn't afford bringing up one child, let alone twins, and therefore, she gave in to the deal. And so my parents returned with their newborn baby, me, back home."

"So you do have a twin," Chloe uttered her assumption, now finally having the certainty of what she'd suspected since she'd talked to the woman. And this fact also gave her more fuel to the other thought she'd had since she met Galant in person.

Playing by the rules, Galant didn't turn his head to her as he answered delightedly. "Yes, number three." He grinned even more pleased as he saw the clenched teeth and the hatred in the man's eyes who sat in front of him. "I got to know all that only half a year ago. When my brother contacted me through the internet. I was quite surprised. And I was more surprised when he, as we met personally for the first time, revealed to me that we not only had our remarkable good looks and this flawless white skin in common-" He ignored the sneer he got from Lucifer. "But that we also shared the same... _hobby_."

Chloe swallowed. The sound of his words, especially as he voiced his last sentence, sent a shiver down her spine, stirring on her fear again, and this time, her emotions weren't that easy to control. With shaking and ice-cold fingers, she moved her hand below the table over to Lucifer, grabbing the first thing she got hold of, digging her fingers into the fabric, to seek comfort in the close contact. She was relieved when Lucifer removed his right arm from the table, and encompassed her hand, squeezing it reassuringly while he remained in his stoic composure.

Unaware of their slightly distracted minds, Galant went on, wallowing in memories. "Yeah, my brother. He could always live out his hobby while I had to hide it to everyone. That's why he was so much better than me in playing it." He sighed, stole a glance over at the blonde beauty that unfortunately had her sight completely averted from him and was instead glancing at the side of her partner. He couldn't even get another glimpse of her chest because this outstretched arm shielded almost all of it. When he turned his attention back to the man in front of him, he was greeted by another pair of black, glaring eyes and he had to contain himself to not laugh out loud. These two Detectives really thought they had the upper hand. He slightly shook his head, belittling them, and made a mental note to tell his brother about them. "My brother was my teacher," he went on as if nothing had happened. "He taught me everything he knew. He showed me how it was done, and even was there when I did my first number." He turned his sight back to Chloe, delighted when their eyes met for a moment, and he cajoled, "Yes, we did everything in turn. First him, then me. Always like brothers share everything." He hummed and his sight went down on the table in front of him.

His words echoed through her head, and Chloe went completely stiff. She couldn't get her mind to push back the sentence _'we did everything in turn'_ , and the thoughts that resulted, further affirming her suggestion. Her body shut down, and she had more and more difficulties in maintaining her police-mask. Trembling, she gripped Lucifer's hand tighter.

"That's why it's so sad that all this has ended now," Galant mumbled and shook his head in sadness.

"How do you mean that?" questioned Lucifer and let his thumb run soft circles across Chloe's fingers, hoping to be able to calm her a little.

"We promised each other that we would never touch the other's numbers. And unless I can get out..." he trailed off and wandered some more down memory lane. "Tell me, how is number five, by the way?" Galant asked, smiling to himself. "I must say I've never had a redhead before and I'm quite intrigued. Maybe you could bring me a picture of her next time?"

"The only thing I'll bring you next time is a knife to shove it down your throat!" Chloe spat and sprang up. She had enough. She couldn't bear any longer being in the same room as this monster. She couldn't endure breathing the same air as him. She rushed to the door, banging on it to signal the guard to open up.

"You are my dream come true," Galant sang as he stared after her. He chuckled as her partner sprang up as well, glaring at him before he walked up to number three. "And I'm your biggest nightmare!" he continued singing wholeheartedly.

Lucifer wished so much that he had just five minutes alone with this bastard. He wouldn't need more. But he couldn't let Chloe stay outside on her own. He needed to make sure she was fine, first. When the door was opened, she kept standing there. Worried, he stepped closer, gently encompassing her lower arms. She startled at the contact, and he felt sorry for scaring her, but it also brought her back into the here and now. As if stung by a bee, she hastened outside and he quickly followed.

The guard brought them back into the room where they had to leave their personal belongings behind. The other guard was still there, greeting them with a nod and gesturing them to raise their arms as he set on to do his second pat-down. Chloe instantly shied away, whispering an anxious "don't touch me," as he came after her.

Lucifer immediately stepped in between them, signalling the guard with his raised hands that he meant no threat, and calmly told him, "You can frisk me as long as you want, but I'd really appreciate if you leave my partner out of this now."

"I can't," the guard denied, shaking his head. "I have my orders to do a pat-down when visitors come and before they leave."

"I can assure you, we definitely didn't take anything from out of there," Lucifer went on and put on his cocky smile. "So, why don't you make an exception and leave her out, and I make an exception and leave you something behind," he offered and nodded his head towards the plastic box.

The guard's eyes followed him, spotting the upper part of the big bundle of bank notes sticking out of it. When he looked back at Lucifer, starting with his pat-down on his arms, he leant a little into him and warned him in a low voice, "If you tell anyone about this, I can get fired."

"Don't worry. I'll be as silent as a grave," he whispered back and flashed him a wide, cheeky grin.

The guard nodded and continued with the procedure. After he was done, he stepped to the side, gesturing to the box and announcing loudly, "You can take your belongings now."

Lucifer turned around, making room for Chloe to step up first. She hastily put back all her stuff and then rushed to the barred door, pressing herself in the farthest corner as she waited for the others. Lucifer turned his attention back to the box, grabbing his ring and phone, putting both back to where they belonged, and with another grin sent to the guard, he walked over to Chloe.

When they were finally released, Chloe rushed out of the building as fast as her feet allowed her to. Lucifer gazed at her until she was gone and then breathed a low sigh as he stepped up to the guard behind the glass panel and asked him in a nonchalant tone, "Is it alright if I sign both me and my partner out? She's in a little of a rush." He leant forward, widening his pupils and stretching his lips into a casual smile.

The guard stared at him, perplexed. He slightly shook his head, more to get himself to talk than to express his answer, and agreed without hesitation, "Sure. I've seen her leaving, anyway. And I'm pretty sure we would know when a woman remained inside this prison." He nodded and shoved the list to him.

Lucifer set his signature behind both names in the exit column, sent the guard a delighted smile, and then turned around and walked out of the building. The sun met his eyes instantly. He squinted them quickly, waiting a brief moment until they had adapted to the bright light before he walked further towards the fence. Chloe was already behind it, rushing towards her car, and he increased the pace. He wasn't scared that she would drive off without him. He was scared that she could break down any minute and he wasn't there to catch her fall. He hurried through the fence gate and jogged after her, watching her tearing open the passenger door and getting inside. When he was at her side, seeing her frantically searching for something in the glove compartment, he asked, worried and confused, "What are you looking for?"

Chloe didn't slow down or turn her head to him as she mumbled, "Meds!" She continued searching, her moves more erratic, and when she couldn't find them, she growled in frustration.

Lucifer finally had enough, he grabbed her by her upper arms, ignoring her instant jump, and carefully shoved her back into the seat. Then he sat down on the front right corner of the seat, and with a well-meant "let me help you," he searched through the compartment himself. Chloe let out a frustrated shout and kicked against the lower part of the centre console. "This doesn't make me find them faster," he dryly commented her actions, trying to keep himself more concentrated on finding her medication, than on her.

"I need to release something!" she spat and buried her head in her hands at the unintentional shout, silently scolding herself. More and more of her anxiety took over in her, letting her body shake uncontrollably, drenching her fingers and neck in sweat, and squeezing her throat tightly as if something invisible was choking her, while her heart rate started to speed up. Slowly, the fear of dying built up inside of her, fuelling her panic and she pressed her teeth together to not scream out.

"Here we go!" Lucifer muttered when he found the little pill box. He wanted to give it to her right away, but when he turned around and saw how shaken up she was, he decided to open it himself and give her the pill into her hand. Chloe quickly pushed the tablet into her mouth and then held her hand out to him again, demanding another one. He hesitated shortly, but when she demanded firmer, he decided that she probably needed the double dose. He gave her another pill and closed the box again, turning to the side to grab the water bottle that was in the door compartment, opened it and gave it to her. After Chloe had taken two sips to wash down the meds, she gave it back to him, and he, closing it again, put it back in the door compartment. Not bearing to see her trembling further, he asked in a hushed tone, "Anything else I can do to help?"

"Take me home," Chloe answered shakily and hid her face again. She didn't see his affirming nod, only sensed the sudden cold as his body disappeared next to her. When she felt his hands around her, shoving her into the middle of the seat, she tensed up completely, unable to even lower her hands, and Lucifer had difficulties moving the belt around her to fasten her properly. Then, he was completely gone, and her door was gently closed shut. The couple of seconds it took for him to walk around the vehicle and get into the driver's seat felt agonisingly long to her, but when he finally was inside, starting the engine and driving off, she slowly began to calm down again.

They didn't speak a single word during the ride. Not out of awkwardness or nervousness. It was a pleasurable silence that both welcomed. Chloe stared out of the window, her eyes fixed on the slowly changing landscape while she tried to keep her thoughts from stirring up her emotions again. They were half an hour on the way home, as she felt the medication finally kicking in, and her body relaxed further.

Lucifer kept one eye on the road ahead and one eye locked on her, carefully observing her, registering every change in her demeanour. He didn't show it, but his body was equally tensed and only started to relax when he recognised her doing the same. He'd been scared today. Scared to the core of his own self that he'd pushed her too far, that she'd got a crack in her soul that was beyond repair because she had to face this monster again so soon. He should have ignored her demand and go in there alone. He would have gotten the same information out of him, he was sure of that. And moreover, he would have spared her the experience. As if she'd been reading his mind, Chloe suddenly piped up. "It wasn't Galant," she stated so quietly that Lucifer couldn't hear her at first. He turned his head to her, asking perplexed, "What?"

"It wasn't Galant," she repeated, louder this time, and shifted in her seat to face him. She saw his eyes staring in puzzlement between her and the road, and she sighed deeply before she explained, "He didn't recognise me when I took a seat in front of him. But if it had been him who'd done this to me, he would have, right?"

Lucifer shook his head. "I have no idea what's going on inside of such a sick mind. But I can assure you, Detective, this man smelled so filthy of his crimes, he's rightfully sitting in that prison. And when he gets down to hell, he'll get a special place in my darkest corner."

Chloe chuckled at his words. Count on Lucifer to bring up the devil-talk at least once a day. She shook her head, giggling along at the simpleness of his words. Those he used to say; back then. Her giggles turned louder as she thought back at all the banter between them, especially those of him claiming to be the devil. His immortality. His wings. His daddy issues... that made him leave her. Tears welled up in her eyes as her mind provided her with that memory again. And once again, she was back to the case of the murdered women. Back to the night when she got attacked. Back to _him_.

Lucifer was startled when her light laughter abruptly turned into sobs, and then into fearful cries, only muffled by her hand that she'd pressed on her face. She kicked her feet against the glove compartment, letting out her frustration, while her body trembled like a leave. He didn't know what to do, but he couldn't let her let loose a rampage inside the car while he was still driving, so he pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. He hadn't even fully turned off the engine as Chloe jumped off her seat, and ran out of the car and up a sandy hill. Lucifer darted out of his seat as well, running after her. "Detective!" he shouted after her, more out of reflex than to actually expect her to stop. Sand and dirt were stirred up into the air as his shoes sank into the soft ground. But he didn't care. He only wanted to get to her before she might get hurt.

Chloe didn't run far into the desert before she broke down to her knees and screamed her lungs out against an invisible enemy, releasing all the anger and frustration that had filled her up to the point where she'd feared to burst.

Lucifer shook about the volume that came out of her, so full of rage and at the same time so full of desperation. She slumped down to a small figure, hiding her face again as he finally reached her and dropped into the sand right next to her. "Weren't these pills supposed to calm you down?" he voiced the first thing that shot through his mind.

"I am calm!" she shouted into the distance, sitting down on her behind and pulling her knees close to her body, wrapping her arms around them as she rocked back and forth. She didn't cry this time, only panted with exhaustion.

Lucifer didn't know how he could help her right now, how he could make the pain go away. He sat down next to her, huddling as close to her as she allowed him to without her tensing up, and carefully placed his hand on her back, leaving it there, so she could get used to his touch.

When her outburst had ceased again, she took several deep breaths. With each exhale, she eased up further. Her body still trembled slightly from the adrenaline rush, but now she felt much better after everything was out of her system. It felt good to have not only the warmth of the sun rays from above, but also to feel the side of his body so close to her, and the hand on her back that radiated heat through the fabric of her jacket. She leant into him, letting herself find comfort for a moment while she tried to sort out her raging thoughts. "He's still out there, Lucifer," she told him quietly. This time, she didn't care that her voice had quavered by the fear that was so present within her. "I need to find him. I need to find that man who did this to me." She felt his hand slowly moving up and down her back, warming more parts, and she leant further into him. "I have to find him," she whispered, at the end of her tether.

"We will find him, Detective," he assured her calmly and increased the pressure on her back as he neither heard nor felt a protest from her side. Gently, he rubbed back and forth, reassuring her once again, "We will find this man, I promise you." He looked at her from the side, seeing the exhaustion on her face, and he stated, gently but determined, "But at first, I'll drive you home."

Chloe turned her face in his direction, staring into the distance as she nodded and breathed out the air from her lungs as an answer.

He uttered a quiet, "Then come," and stood up from the ground, holding his hand out to her. When she took it, he pulled her up, commenting softly, "Let's get you home."

/-/

Chloe didn't even realise that they had reached her house or that he'd even left the car and had walked around to her. Only when she felt his arm around her, reaching for the buckle of the seatbelt, she snapped back into reality.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you up," Lucifer apologised when she shifted in her seat and, accompanied by a yawn, stretched her arms. He pressed the release button, making sure that the belt didn't hurt her as it was pulled back up to the retractor. Then he squatted down next to her, to have a better look at her while they talked.

"Haven't slept," she replied and sent him a light smile when she saw his as-if-look staring back at her. "Just rested my eyes for a bit," she excused herself.

"You can _rest your eyes_ again when you're inside," he countered, slightly smirking at her as he emphasised the words. She hadn't moved during the rest of the ride, and she still looked very tired, he recognised as he gave her a quick once-over. "Want me to carry you?" he suggested, trying to let it sound nonchalant, but couldn't stop the little hope of having her close again from swinging in his tone.

Chloe pursed her lips. If she was honest with herself, she really wanted him to pick her up bridal style. But she couldn't. As soon as she got too close to him, the memories would shoot back into her mind. And after all the things he'd done for her today, he didn't deserve another rejection. Biting her lower lip, she shook her head, feeling guilty as she saw disappointment flashing up across his eyes before he quickly hid it under his cheerful smile. He straightened and held his hand out to her, and she gratefully accepted it, holding onto him and steadying her wobbly feet as she stepped out of the car. She walked over to her front door, hearing him coming closely after her, and as she pulled out her keys, unlocking the door, she pushed it wide open, letting them both inside. She walked straight to the couch, hearing the distinct sound of her door falling back in its lock when she made her way over and plunged down into her corner, grabbing the pillow next to her and hugging it close as she snuggled into the back and armrest.

Lucifer walked straight to the kitchen area. He spotted the usually well-equipped wine rack completely empty and got disappointed once again. "Where is your wine?" he asked right away, looking around to maybe find something else suitable.

Chloe didn't bother to look over her shoulder, she was already too sunken into the cosiness of her corner. "Don't have any anymore," she replied loudly, feeling already worn out just by raising her voice. "I don't like the feeling of not having full control over myself, and Maze prefers vodka anyway," she added to justify herself.

' _Vodka!'_ it shot through Lucifer's head and he grimaced. He'd never been a friend of that beverage. "And what do you drink instead?" he called over his shoulder.

"Water," Chloe answered, adding after a moment, "Or tea. There should still be some in the fridge," she recalled.

Lucifer grimaced again. Tea and water only counted for him as drinkable when there really was no other option. He opened the fridge, finding the cold tea right away, and, luckily, also a bottle of Maze's vodka. Telling himself that today he couldn't be picky, he grabbed both, turned around, and poured each into a glass. Then, with the rest nice and neatly stowed away again, he made his way over to the couch, offering her the tea. After she'd grabbed it, he slouched down onto the other side of the couch. While he sipped on his drink, he glanced over at her. Chloe had her legs pulled up to her chest again, and rested her head against the backrest. With her glass safely put into the crook of her chest and thighs, steadied by her hands, she looked again as if she was about to fall asleep. "Don't you want to take a nap?" he suggested calmly.

Chloe shook her head from side to side and instantly regretted it when her head started to spin. Taking a deep breath and waiting until the dizziness had subsided, she answered, determined, "Am not a baby anymore. I don't need a nap."

"You're right. What you need is a proper sleep," he retorted, slightly narrowing his eyes as he got another shake of her head in response. He took a large sip of his drink, pursing his lips to keep himself from countering something that he already knew would definitely make her snap.

"I can sleep when I've arrested this Galant-twin," she mentioned quietly and swirled the tea around in her hand, holding it as if she expected it to show her his whereabouts.

"Detective, as much as I appreciate your eagerness to get this excuse of a man off the streets," he started sternly and eyed her warily. "You're not of any help in your delirious state. You can barely hold your head up," he pointed out, emptying his glass in one go.

"Lucifer, I'm definitely of no use when I sleep!" she countered, getting miffed. "And lately I'm doing nothing but that." It frustrated her that she couldn't keep her body functioning. That it needed more and more rest at shorter intervals of time.

"Fine!" he retorted, vexed himself. "Then what else do you want to do instead?"

"I don't know!" she snapped, frustrated, and cursed under her breath as her mild outburst caused some of her tea to spill over her hand. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him jolting up and leaning into her to help, and warned him sharply, "Don't!" She put her legs on the ground and leant forward, placing the tea down on her coffee table and then wiped her hands dry on the side of her jeans.

Lucifer bit his lip to keep the comment that was on the tip of his tongue from slipping out. He took a deep breath to get himself back under control. Right now wasn't the time to stir up another fight with her. He waited until she'd rested herself back against the couch before he calmly pointed out, "If you don't know, then why don't you take my suggestion for a change and see if this helps?" He looked at her, unable to hide the smug stare as he saw her furrowing her brows and heard her low huff.

It wasn't that she didn't want to sleep. She felt the fatigue in her bones again since she'd left the car, and she would have preferred to stretch out on the couch and simply drift off. But she couldn't. She was too afraid of closing her eyes. Now more than ever after she learned that she was anything but safe. Linda's words shot back into her head, that she should tell Lucifer, that he would understand if he knew the truth, and she told herself that this time, she would try her recommendation. Plucking up all her courage, she slowly began, "I can't sleep here."

"Then why don't you go upstairs to your bed," Lucifer replied, cutting her short, not understanding what the problem was.

Chloe groaned in frustration. She turned around to him and hissed angrily, "Shut up and listen!" He stared at her perplexed, his lips forming a silent 'oh', and she took a deep, calming breath, exhaled her build-up anger, and started again, explaining to him in a normal tone, "I get nightmares as soon as I fall asleep." Turning her sight back to the pillow her hands had tightly gripped, she went on, "It's every time, and after two to three hours I wake up with a start. Linda gave me some sleeping pills that make my sleep so deep that I manage to get some more hours before the nightmares begin, but they're also so strong that they literally knock me out during that time." Taking another deep breath, she continued, "The sheer thought of being defenceless against somebody again lets my blood freeze in my veins. I can't take any unless I know that Maze is nearby. Because I know, she will protect me."

Lucifer swallowed. He was glad that she'd decided to share that personal information with him, but at the same time he felt bad, not only for having interrupted her as he thought it was only because of the location she was in but moreover because it hurt to know that this bastard had interfered in her life in every possible way. That she not only felt threatened by his existence in reality but that he'd also invaded her dreams and denied her even the last resort: her own mind. He was about to suggest to her that he could stay with her until Maze would arrive, as another, more important question crossed his mind. "Do you feel safe with me?" he asked her slightly insecure.

A low, involuntary chuckle escaped her throat at his question. "Yes," she answered, nodding her head at him. "As strange as this sounds, but I feel very safe when you're around. I always have." She halted, thinking for a moment if it was appropriate, but then again, she'd already told him so much, the next thought that was on her mind wouldn't make it any more awkward. So she added, "I trust you, Lucifer. Completely."

He didn't suppress the smile from spreading his lips at her disclosure. "I could stay with you, then. I'll inform Maze and you can take your sleeping pills and I will keep watching over you until she comes home."

"I don't want you to waste any more of your time with me just because I can't look after myself," she answered, hiding that she would be tremendously relieved if she could spend some more time with him. "You've already lost your whole morning because of me. I'm pretty sure you have a lot of better things to do."

 _'I would even stand in the corner and pretend that I'm a clothes tree if that would let me have more time with you,'_ it shot through his head, but he refrained from speaking that out loud. Instead, he went with the old-fashioned, "It'd be my pleasure."

She voiced a low "thanks" in his direction and relaxed into her seat. She was about to get up when another thought shot through her head and involuntarily made her cheeks flush slightly. She couldn't go up there into her bedroom and lie down. Where would he suppose to be, then? In the hallway, leaning against the wall? In her bedroom, staring at her from the side, or sitting on her clothes chair? On the other side of the bed, watching her sleep? The further her thoughts spun, the deeper the red on her cheeks became, and the more she wanted to shake her head in denial. It really was best if they'd stay down here, she decided, nodded lightly, and put her feet back on the ground. She pushed herself up to stand and instantly fell back down as the dizziness made her lose balance.

"Wait," Lucifer called out and shot up, blocking another attempt from her. He almost stopped breathing when he saw her falling back again. She was too exhausted to even use her limbs properly, but still, with her stubbornness, she wanted to do everything on her own. He was annoyed at her behaviour but also impressed. He wouldn't have expected anything less from her if he was honest with himself. "What do you want to do?"

"Getting my pills," she answered matter-of-factly, gripping the armrest to stop her head from spinning.

"You stay here!" he ordered, his voice still too filled with worry to let it sound like a non-negotiable command. "I'll get your pills," he added and stepped aside from the couch. He turned his head back, attempting to ask her where they were, but she beat him to it.

"On my bedside table. The water bottle stands right underneath," she informed him and let her head fall back onto the backrest, sighing relieved when she didn't have to hold it up anymore; it felt heavy like a rock.

Lucifer nodded at her, sending her a sympathetic smile, and then made his way up to her bedroom. As soon as he'd turned his back to her, his smile dropped immediately, making room for the rage that seethed underneath his skin all this time. He would definitely call his contact in prison and make sure that Galant as well would never be able to have a restful sleep in his life again. He took out his phone, sending Maze a message that he'd brought Chloe home because she needed to rest. And asked her when she would be back. Then he walked into Chloe's bedroom, seeing the pillbox standing right where she said it was. With few large steps, he was at the bedside table, grabbing it. Taking the bottle of water from the floor as well, he turned around and walked back down to her.

He smiled to himself, pleased, when he spotted her half stretched out on the couch, only her legs were bent. He shoved the glass of tea aside and sat down on the coffee table, opening the pillbox and giving her one. Then, he opened the water bottle and held it towards her. Chloe took two large sips before she gave him back the bottle, and he closed it again, placed it down on the ground next to him, and watched her resting her head on the armrest, a small pillow underneath to support her upper back.

"I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble," she mumbled, her eyes already half closed.

Lucifer shook his head lightly. He moved his hand over to her head, sighing relieved as she didn't shirk away from his touch or made any other signal that she didn't like it. "You're not causing any trouble," he softly contradicted. With gentle strokes, he caressed her forehead to help her find sleep. She moved her head slightly in his direction, and his forefinger lowered further down to her eyebrow, tenderly caressing it. That was when he saw it. The scar in the middle of her brow. So small and light that it was barely recognisable. No one would have noticed who didn't know that it was there. But now that he knew, he was unable to unsee it again. He sighed in sadness. He wanted her to have proper rest and as cosy as this couch looked, he doubted that she would find it here. "Is it OK for you when I carry you up to your bed after you fell asleep?" he asked quietly to not stir her too much back into the presence. When her non-verbal nod came as answer, he smiled, delighted, and continued with stroking her forehead until she was deep asleep.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his jacket pocket. He almost cursed in anger, fearing that this would wake Chloe up again, but fortunately, she didn't make a move. He pulled out his phone and looked at the text message he'd received. _'Be home right after Trixie is done with her sports. In about an hour,'_ it said and he nodded to himself. After sending an ' _OK_ ' as a reply, he put the phone back and took a proper look at Chloe. Her breath was even and he found it was the right time to try and pick her up. He carefully grabbed under her bent legs and instantly froze when she instinctively tensed and pressed her thighs firmly together. He frowned darkly and voicelessly growled in anger. He definitely would make sure that Galant hadn't a minute's rest in prison again, he told himself. And then, when he had this other guy, he would make sure that this one knew what to expect down in hell. Picking her up as gently as possible, he carried her into her bedroom.

Carefully, he lay her down on her side of the bed, removing her shoes and placing them besides the bed before he wrapped a light blanket around her. He stared at her for another moment. He couldn't imagine the pain she must have endured. And he was angry, not only at himself but also at his father. Why did he make her go through this?

Without making a noise, he walked around to the other side of the bed, taking his shoes off as well and putting his jacket on the chair that stood in the corner. Then he lay down on the free side of the bed, turning his head so he was looking at her. Her chest lifted and lowered slightly, indicating that she was sleeping, and he hoped that it was a peaceful one while he watched over her.

/-/

He didn't know how long it had been. The room was so quiet that he'd drifted off a bit as well and got woken up when he heard some muffled movements downstairs. He sent a glance over to Chloe, noticing that she'd shifted in her sleep and was now lying on her side, her back towards him. He heard light footsteps coming closer and looked ahead to the door, expecting it to be opened any minute. The doorknob turned before the door was being swung widely into the room, and he was greeted by Trixie, her bright smile instantly changed into a perplexed stare as she got sight of him. He quickly placed his finger on his lips, gesturing her to keep her voice down.

Trixie took some steps further into the room, her eyes switching from her mother's sleeping figure to Lucifer who simply stared back at her until she stopped shortly before his feet. "What are you doing here?" she whispered curiously, still deciding in her head whether she should be delighted that he was in her mummy's bed or that she should scold him.

"Watching over your mum, so she can have a good sleep," he replied in a hushed tone.

Trixie stared at him, giving him a low"uh-huh" to signal him that she'd understood. Then she frowned, briefly looking over to her mother before her eyes fixed back on him. She shook her head, silently rebuking him. "You're not doing it right!" she pointed out and before he could reply anything or even voice a protest, she jumped onto the bed, grabbed his hand, and pulled him after her as she walked towards her mother and with another large step, over her.

Lucifer was gobsmacked. Not only that Chloe didn't stir in the slightest by all the movements on the bed, but also by the sheer force this little girl had. Did Maze secretly train her? Well, he still could have easily pulled back his arm, but he didn't want to make this small human fall onto the Detective and wake her up, so he basically let himself get dragged by her. "Stop it, child," he ordered her in a hushed tone. But it didn't help, she only paused when he was lying closely against Chloe's back.

Trixie smiled, pleased with her work. Then she squatted down, putting Lucifer's arm around her mum, placing it right between her and herself as she lay down as well to keep him from pulling back. "The bad dreams don't come when she gets hugged," she explained to him with a child's logic. "You need to keep her close to you. Don't let go or else the dreams come. Understood?" she ordered, looking over her mother and sternly staring at him.

Lucifer was so perplexed that he only nodded his understanding. He almost wanted to explain to her that dreams wouldn't care about who was lying right next to her when he halted himself. Now that he thought about it, he was quite happy that he was snuggled up to his Chloe, and that he could fully blame her daughter as soon as she would wake up. Relaxing, he huddled a little closer against her back, and gripped firmer around her, snuggling his face into her hair as he closed his eyes, allowing himself some rest as well.

/-/

Chloe dreamed again. She found herself lying in Lucifer's bed, already knowing what would come, without having the ability to stop or alter it in any way. She tensed up, her whole body frozen, filled with nothing but fear. But when she felt the movement around her, the hands that usually started to choke her only rubbed her shoulder. She stared at the figure that was blurred out of her vision, doing nothing but rubbing her upper arm, and slowly the surroundings changed. It felt lighter, and when she blinked, the penthouse was replaced by the familiar colour of her bedroom wall. She still felt a hand lightly rubbing up and down the side of her arm, and when her consciousness was fully back she realised that the hand was real and that she lay on something warm and cuddly. She took a deep breath and her nose filled itself up with the distinct smell of cigarette, bourbon and aftershave. She frightened, and with one fast move, pushed herself off of Lucifer's chest and a bit away. His puzzled face still stared at her as she blinked several times to get herself completely into the here and now. Slowly, she comprehended to whom she'd snuggled into, and her hands shot up to her face, pretending to rub the sleep away while she pushed down the feeling of disappointment that she wasn't any longer lying on his chest.

"It's alright, Detective. You're safe," Lucifer whispered softly and stretched himself to get some movement in his stiff limbs.

Nodding out of reflex, Chloe stopped rubbing her eyes, took a quick glance around the room, and then let her head sink down onto the pillow. She inhaled deeply, chasing away the sleep from her bones with a load of oxygen, and turned her sight to him, asking, "How long was I out?"

Lucifer shrugged his shoulders and turned his body, facing her fully. "Four hours. Maybe even five." He sent her a warm smile, and checked with her, "Did you sleep well?"

"You woke me up... before..." she trailed off, not yet ready to face reality.

Lucifer nodded at her, calmly mentioning, "You started tensing up. So I figured you had a nightmare." He glanced at her, trying to find out by the look on her face if he'd guessed right. When he saw her confirming nod, he leant himself back again. "I had a little time to think about how to proceed further," he started, getting right back to the topic. "When we plaster Galant's face all over the news, it should be no problem to find this other guy. After all, they look identical."

Chloe shook her head, instantly disagreeing. "Then he would know that we're after him," she explained to him, her mind getting right into police mode. "We don't want to rouse him. We want him to think that he's safe, so he's not cautious and makes mistakes." Rummaging further in her brain and recalling the talk in the prison, she pointed out, "Galant knew that a fifth victim already existed. And that she was a red-head. But this fact wasn't in the news. No one gave out that there was a victim having the same marks as the one Galant was using nor how she looked. Monroe assured me yesterday. That means Galant had contact with his brother."

"So all we need to know now is who had been visiting Galant," he tossed in.

"He's not allowed to have any private visits," she made clear, slightly shaking her head. "But he can make calls. We need to-" she broke off. "Damn it!" she cursed, gripping her head and rubbing her forehead in frustration. "To find out who had called him we need to go the official way, and then they know that we're investigating and I get suspended."

"Or we can use my connection and I'll get you the information without anyone knowing," Lucifer suggested and flashed her a smug grin.

Chloe groaned into the palms of her hands. "Do I want to know how you got that connection?"

Lucifer shook his head. "Don't think so." He pushed himself off the bed, standing up, and grabbed his jacket. "Come on, then. Your offspring peeked into this room twice already," he let her know, adding in his head ' _after she came in and wrapped me around you._ ' He walked to the door, opening it. "I think she wants to see you."

Chloe nodded at him, once again rubbing her face to wipe off the rest of her sleepy dust, and then stretched her legs to get the stiffness out of them. She shifted around and got up as well, heading after him as he made his way downstairs.

/-/

When Chloe stepped out of her daughter's room again, closing the door behind her, the sight she got couldn't be any more ironic: Maze was sitting on the kitchen table, munching away on some cereals right out of the box and Lucifer was leaning against the kitchen counter, sipping on his glass that definitely wasn't filled with water. The room was dead silent while they were having a staring-contest, and she instantly was set back to the moment Lucifer had walked into the house this morning. "Is this all you want to eat for dinner?" Chloe asked Maze, interrupting the silence and getting both their attention. Maze only nodded, putting another handful of cereals into her mouth. She disapprovingly shook her head and walked up to the fridge, grabbing the flyer for takeaways from it. Since they lived together, Trixie adapted more and more habits from Maze, and she didn't want her to end up living on cereals and vodka. Switching through the menu, she decided that today was a perfect day for a casserole, and she grabbed the phone.

"You can't be serious!" Lucifer scolded her, grabbing the phone from her and placing it back. Then he took the takeaway menu and put it back on the fridge, slightly shoving Chloe aside to open the door. "What do we have," he mumbled as he peeked inside, mustering the items. He grabbed several of them, turned around to the stove, and placed them down. "Hand me the pan, please," he ordered Chloe, while he grabbed the cutting board and knife, getting down to work.

Maze observed the odd pair. Not even two days ago, Chloe had told her that she wanted to chop off his head and now they were standing there, side by side, she mixing a salad while he skinned and chopped some potatoes, playing house. She shook her head, suppressing the chuckle that wanted to leave her mouth, and eyed them with suspicion. They definitely hadn't done anything dirty up there in the room, so much she knew, the walls were so thin, she would have heard it otherwise. But she also couldn't figure out why they stood there and acted as if nothing had ever happened. When the chopped potatoes hit the pan with a sizzling noise and he added the stirred eggs, the fragrance of food instantly filled the air, and Maze put her cereals aside. As much as she mistrusted Lucifer at the moment, she also knew how deliciously he could cook, and it had been a while since she ate a well-made farmer's breakfast.

It didn't take long and the group sat around the table, their plates filled with the potato-egg mix and salad, Maze's and Trixie's with a well-meant added portion of ketchup. Together, they ate in silence for a couple of minutes. Only Trixie shifted around on her chair, too elated by the group dinner and the fact that she could talk her mother into getting a seat between her and Lucifer. While she stuffed her mouth full to the brim with the tasty meal, she raised her glass whenever she saw Lucifer doing it, pretending to drink alcohol as well when he sipped his drink. The first couple of times he overlooked her mimicking, but then, when he got aware of it, he halted in the middle of his task, eyeing her perplexed, and Trixie let out a loud giggle and almost choked on her food. Chloe rubbed across her daughter's back, helping her with her cough, but also made sure that Trixie ate properly from then on.

"So, did your trip today go well?" Maze asked and switched her attention between Chloe and Lucifer.

Chloe hastily nodded her head. "Yeah," she answered, briefly looking up at Maze, and sending her a pleading look to not say anything about where they've actually been, with Trixie still at the table.

Giving her a brief nod, Maze quickly changed the topic, turning her attention to Lucifer. "So, how's life with Candy?" she wanted to know, smiling smugly, and eyed him curiously.

Before Lucifer was able to say something, Trixie piped up next to him, "Who's Candy?"

"My wife," Lucifer answered her with a smile.

"Your wife?" Trixie called out and stared at him in disbelief. His firm nod was instantly countered with an equally firm, "Why did you marry her?"

Chloe gaped at her. She was baffled and didn't know if she should scold her daughter or pat her on the back approvingly. She decided to stick to the politeness and gently reminded her, "Monkey, when someone says that they got married, we normally congratulate that person, because we're happy for them." She grabbed her glass, taking a huge sip to keep her mouth busy from adding something else.

Trixie turned her head to her mother, eyeing her with scepticism. "But I'm not happy about that!" she exclaimed and turned her head back to Lucifer, pouting and mumbling, "I thought you would marry my mummy!"

Out of the corners of his eyes, he saw how Chloe choked on her water, nearly spilling the liquid over her plate and quickly reached for a napkin, pressing it against her mouth as she coughed out the remaining liquid from her lungs. "Sorry, child. I've decided to marry Candy first," he explained to her, hoping this answer would please her. Seeing a grin stretching her lips suddenly, he assumed success. He took his glass, taking a large sip himself in smug complacency.

"That's alright! Mummy was married before, too," Trixie commented and turned her head, staring at him as she asked with the greatest interest, "So, when are you going to divorce Candy?"

This time it was Lucifer who almost spat his drink all over the table.

"Trixie!" Chloe scolded her daughter, aghast at her words, and sent her a stern glare while she tried to ignore Maze who was laughing loudly beside her.

Not knowing what she did wrong, Trixie turned her attention back to her mother. "What? I just mean that this way, he's already done all his mistakes and can then stay with you until you die. You deserve someone at your side, Mummy."

"That's true, offspring. Your mum deserves the best," Lucifer confirmed while Chloe kept on staring at her daughter speechlessly. He assumed that she didn't take the ' _until you die_ ' very well. Taking the attention off of Chloe, he went on, addressing Trixie, "But that's also the reason it won't be me," he explained to her, ignoring her instant dropping lips. "I have many mistakes, dear. And although I try my very best, I end up hurting your mummy. And I don't want that."

"Then... try harder!" Trixie shouted in protest and folded her arms in front of her chest. Her jaw began to tremble and she pressed her chin down to her neck, trying hard not to let the tears run free.

It broke Chloe's heart to see her daughter like this, and she was about to grab her and hold her tight, as Lucifer leant forward and gently turned Trixie to him. "Don't you want someone for your mummy who is as smart as her? Who always says the right things? Who is always there for her, no matter what? Who makes her laugh every day, and can hold her in his arms whenever she needs it?" When Trixie looked up at him, the tears slowly starting to dry, he mentioned with a sad tone, "I'm none of that, small human. And your mummy deserves nothing less."

"But this isn't about what you think she deserves!" Trixie protested, frowning at him. "This is about what she needs, Lucifer," she pointed out and huffed. Looking down on her hands, she commented quietly, "And she needs you!"

He was completely clueless about what to answer to her after that speech. Was she really only a child? He wasn't so sure anymore. Lucifer looked up, hoping the others could help him, but when he stared into their faces, Maze's completely flabbergasted, and Chloe's mixed with utmost adoration and moved to tears, he just shrugged his shoulders and grabbed his drink, taking a large sip to calm his own nerves.

As sudden as her intellectual flight came, it vanished again, and Trixie turned back to her table, grabbed her glass, took a sip and then commented nonchalantly to Lucifer, "Anyway, when you're done trying with Candy, my friend's mum is a divorce lawyer, I think she'll give you a discount." Not missing a beat, she turned her head the other way round, facing her baffled mother and requested casually, "Can I get some ice cream, please?"

Chloe only stared blankly at her daughter, not quite knowing if she really had heard correctly. Out of reflex, she nodded her head, and watch her child cheerfully getting up from her chair and scurrying to the fridge. She turned her head back to the table, feeling the need to say something, anything, to disrupt this awkward silence that had fallen between them, especially between her and Lucifer. Apparently, the others had the same idea, as suddenly a phone started ringing and they all acted like Pavlov's dogs. All at once, Lucifer jumped up from his seat, informing them with an "I need to get that call" and rushing out of the door, Chloe grabbed some plates, commenting hastily "I'll clear the table", and Maze got up as well, adding a quick "I'll check the news," as she headed off to the living area.

When he was outside the door, Lucifer took a deep, liberating breath, before he hit the answer button and held the little device to his ear. "Yes?" he stated, prompting the one on the other end of the line to speak.

 _"So, what I've found out about inmate 3704558,"_ a deep voice resounded in his ear. _"He didn't get any other visitors than you. But there are two numbers he's regularly phoning. I can send them to you via text if you like._ "

Lucifer smiled to himself. "Yes! That would be very helpful," he replied. "And could you do me one more favour?"

 _"Shoot."_

"Could you take care of inmate 3704558?" he asked, his lips stretching up to his ears.

 _"How do you want me to take care of him?"_ the man from the other end of the line inquired.

Lucifer suppressed a vicious chuckle, and then answered, "I want you to make every day and every night of his stay as unforgettable as possible."

 _"Want me to get him a free ticket to the infirmary?"_

"To the contrary," he denied. Oh, no, Galant wouldn't get away too easily, he thought to himself. He would make sure that this bastard would never forget in his life how it feels to get his own body violated. "Make him your pet. If you know what I mean."

 _"Sure! I wanted a new one, anyway. And he's still fresh,"_ the man commented, his smug smile sounding through.

Lucifer smiled to himself, pleased. He ended the call and went back inside, heading directly to Chloe who was busy loading the dishwasher. "Got some results," he whispered to her.

Chloe looked up at him, instantly understanding. Putting on a nonchalant expression, she turned around, addressing her child, "Trixie, babe, are you done with your ice cream?" Getting a muffled "uh-huh" in return, she replied, "Could you please go to your room then, us adults want to have some private talk."

"Yup," Trixie called out, jumped off her chair and rushed to her room.

After watching her daughter closing the door, she turned back to him and asked in a low tone, "Alright, what did you find out?"

Lucifer grinned brightly and leant forward so he could keep his voice down. "Galant had regular contact to two different callers." Showing his phone to her, he added, "These two numbers, to be precise."

Chloe's eyebrows shot skywards. That was really fast in getting the information. And she still didn't know how exactly he managed it. Eyeing him sceptically, she quickly shrugged it off as a mystery she would solve later, and commented, "Now we only need to find out to whom these numbers belong." Receiving his firm nod, she automatically copied his movement, only leaving out the big smug grin he had on his face. Rummaging in her brain for a solution, she turned around, eyeing Maze's head looking out from behind the couch. "Humph," she mumbled and with several quick steps she scurried to her roommate and slumped down next to her. "Maze," she elongated her name and stared at her expectantly.

Maze turned her head, sceptically frowning at the very odd behaviour of Chloe. "What?" she asked warily and eyed her suspiciously.

"Do you still have your friend that can track down people through their phones?" Chloe counter-questioned, trying to look casual, but it completely failed.

One of Maze's eyebrows disappeared in her hairline. "Depends. Are you doing something illegal?" she asked and flashed her a smug grin, instantly hooked.

Chloe stared at her with narrowed eyes, her head tilted to the side, and her arms folded in front of her chest. "Really?" she voiced disappointedly. "You truly think that I would do something outside the law?"

"Well," Maze thought about her question and shrugged her shoulders. "A couple of days ago I still was absolutely sure you would never ever work together again with that living example over there." She pointed to Lucifer. "But you proved me wrong. So," she halted and grinned at her cockily. "Everything is possible."

Chloe grumbled under her breath. "It's something for the case," she flatly pointed out.

"Then why don't you go to your lab tech, how was her name again, and ask her?" Maze countered, puzzled.

"Because tomorrow is Sunday and your contact has a 24/7 working philosophy. We're kinda in a hurry," she retorted, innerly crossing her fingers that this would suffice her as an answer.

Maze tipped her head and considered her answer. "Sounds legit," she commented and the corners of her mouth turned southwards. "Lame!" Shrugging her shoulders again, she stood up from the couch. "But whatever," she stated and turned back to them."So, where are the numbers?" she demanded expectantly and alternatingly stared at Chloe, then at Lucifer, and aback.

Chloe exhaled a low, relieved sigh, glad that this went rather smoothly. She pointed with her finger over to Lucifer before she let herself fall back into the backrest, relaxing her shoulders.

Maze stepped to Lucifer, snatched the little note he'd scribbled the numbers onto out of his hands, and went off to her room, making a call.

Lucifer walked over to the couch, stopping in front of Chloe. "You alright?" he asked as he saw her exhausted face.

Chloe nodded her answer. "Just a little tired again, that's all," she shrugged it off. "I don't know when we get the results, but do you have plans tomorrow?" she asked cautiously.

"Don't worry your pretty head," he countered and flashed her a smug grin. "I've already told you I'll help you. Just tell me when and I'll be there." He smiled again, warmly, when he heard her relieved sigh and saw the touch of a smile on her face.

It didn't take long and Maze strolled back into the living area, heading for them and stopping next to Lucifer with a little distance to him. "I told him to track down the location and names of the phone numbers, and he will send me a mail as soon as he has them. It might take a couple of hours but you can expect it around tomorrow morning."

"Marvellous," Lucifer exclaimed and his lips lifted up on his cheeks. Turning his attention back to Chloe, he informed her, "I'll better go now, make some arrangements." With a nod, he added, "Good night, Detective. Have a nice sleep."

"Good night, Lucifer," Chloe replied. "And thank you. For everything today."

"Not for that," he shrugged it off with a wave of his hand and turned around, heading for the door.

"I'll bring you out," Maze mumbled and quickly headed after him. When he'd opened the door, she grabbed it, closing it after him until only half of her body could fit in between. With narrowed eyes and a death glare towards him, she warned him gravely, "Chloe has been through enough, Lucifer." She saw his questioning look and made it clearer, her tone giving away that she wasn't joking, "If you break her heart a second time, I'll break your neck!"

Lucifer flashed her a bright smile. "It was nice seeing you, too, Mazikeen," he responded, turned around and left, walking to his car that he'd parked here this morning. His features darkened instantly as soon as he was out of their sight, and when he reached his Corvette and sat behind the wheel, he mumbled to himself, sending a glance towards the building complex, "I hope you'll keep your word, Maze." Taking a low breath, he repeated again, "I do hope so." With another glance towards the building, he turned his eyes back ahead, started the engine, and drove off.

Chloe relaxed some more into the cosy material of the couch until something very important shot through her head, reminding her: She had Trixie this weekend! And she couldn't commandeer Maze another time to play babysitter for her daughter. Clutching her head, she hastily stood up and went to her jacket, grabbing her phone. She quickly pressed speed dial and placed the device against her ear, silently praying that he did have time. When the line connected and she heard his muttered 'yeah', she asked, crossing her fingers, "Hey Dan... yes, it's me. Could you take Trixie tomorrow? I've had a really rough day today and I fear I'll be worse tomorrow. I don't want her to have to take care of me again," she explained to him and listened to his reply, her worried frown changing into that of relief. "Really? Thank you so much! I owe you!... Yeah, I know," she answered with a chuckle. "Thank you again." She listened some more, nodding her head in reflex. "No problem. I'll pick her up on Monday and bring her to school, I promise... Yes... Of course... I'll be there at eight... Yeah. Thank you! Bye... And have a good night... Yeah, bye." She ended the call, forcing herself to not jump for joy. At least her daughter could have a normal weekend. Turning around, she rushed to her child's room, tapping at the door before she went inside. "Hey monkey," she greeted Trixie who sat on her bed, doing her new doll's hair. "How does spending your Sunday with dad sound to you?"

"Yeah!" Trixie cheered, raising her hands and smiling all over the face.

Chloe sighed, overly relieved that her daughter was so easy-care.

/-/

When the lift had reached the penthouse and its doors slid open, Lucifer pushed himself off the wall with a low sigh and entered his apartment. Like on autopilot, he walked over to the bar. His mind was still filled with the events of the day and the emotions they unremittingly stirred up inside of him. Emotions he wasn't familiar with. Emotions he didn't even have the name of. And if someone asked him what had been the most affecting moment today, he would have trouble answering them... Now that he thought about it, it most probably would have been the words of the small human; ' _try harder_ ' and ' _she needs you_ ' were the ones that went straight through his heart, like Azrael's blade. He knew she needed him. Just as much as he needed her. And that was exactly why he had to keep his distance. He was trying to save her life!

"Have you any idea what time it is?" Candy snapped loudly as she sat up on the couch, rudely interrupting his thoughts.

Lucifer quickly shook himself out of his mind. He looked over at her, shrugging his shoulders. "Don't know. Eight, maybe?" he answered in his usual smugness, burying his true feelings deep inside of him, and turned his attention back to the bar. He grabbed a glass and filled it with two fingers of his finest beverage. As stomping steps resounded from the floor, he assumed with a smirk that his words hadn't been a pleasing answer for his dear wife.

Candy walked up to him, grabbed his arm and turned him around. She narrowed her eyes at him and scrutinised with a voice half in anger and half in worry, "Where were you?"

"Work," he simply replied and took a large sip. The whisky instantly burned down his throat, making its way into his stomach and filling him with a blissful warmth that only a 1970s single malt was capable of. He hummed in delight, and his thoughts started to roll around in his head again; but before he allowed himself to jump on that train, he turned his attention to Candy, who kept on staring at him in expectation.

"All day?" she questioned brusquely, her worry completely gone as she beheld the pleased look on his face.

Lucifer sighed and swirled the drink in his hand. "Of course!" he answered in a cheerful tone. Recognising that this also didn't please her, he explained flatly, "In this world, you work! Sometimes it takes all day, sometimes it takes several. You can't just sit around all the time and do what you want. That's how things are, darling." He was surprised at his own words, and couldn't believe it was actually him who'd said them out loud. After all, this was exactly what he'd come for to earth. To finally start doing what he wanted, and nothing but that.

"I have no idea why you like it here, then," Candy remarked with a disparaging tone. "When everything is work and not a party, why don't we go back home?" she asked and pouted at him.

"Because _this_ is my home," he retorted, calm but nonetheless determined. He sent her a wary glance and then dismissively turned his gaze, walking straight over to his piano and taking a seat. While he placed his glass on the cover of the grand, his free hand already started to strike up a tune, that turned into a soft and light-hearted melody as soon as his other hand joined; completely contrary to the feelings inside of him that crawled out from their hiding place and ran roller-coaster again. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, stretching his lungs up to their full capacity, and when he exhaled again, all the feelings were gone... except for the ghost of her hand that was still wrapped around his body, once again reminding him of the brief moment when he could pretend that he was in heaven.

Candy stared at him for a moment longer, deciding whether she should walk up to him again or leave him alone. Eventually, her choice fell onto the latter and she strolled past him, heading for the bathroom, as suddenly Lucifer's rough voice held her back.

"Have you been good, today, Candiceen?" he questioned sharply, his sight fixed ahead on the sunset outside, while his fingers kept on playing the cheerful song.

She huffed and squinted her eyes, anything but pleased that he was using her full name, but turned around to him with a nonchalant smile on her face. "Yes! So good that the Brittanys do nothing than to praise me for my tongue skills," she boasted and walked back to him. She sat down on the outer part of the stool and stared at him attentively as she cautioned him, "But they start to get suspicious. I have to stop asking them about Maze." After letting a moment of silence pass, she added with a swing in her tone, "They have shown me everything she likes, anyway."

Lucifer stopped to play, took a low breath and then turned his head to her. "Good! Then start practising the other things I've told you." She nodded at him, smiling pleased, and was about to get up as he gripped her arm and held her back, raising his voice again, "But be careful! Maze is no one to be fooled easily. Your role needs to be perfect. Understood?" Once again she nodded, firmer this time, and he warned her, "You mustn't fail!"

"I won't, Lucifer," Candy affirmed, staring at him with the deepest respect she felt. "I won't disappoint you," she repeated.

"Good!" Lucifer replied and flashed her a smile. He leant into her, giving her a peck on her cheek, before he let go of her and turned his attention back to the black and white keys, continuing with his play.

/-/

Chloe always knew that Maze wasn't the person who went with normal conventions. But that she would bolt into her room at four o'clock in the morning, waking her up with the printed-out names and locations of the two telephone numbers, was even by her standards over the top. She hadn't been able to fall asleep after her roommate _helped_ her exchange her blood with pure adrenaline. And now she stood here, three hours later, leaning against the wall of her daughter's room, sipping at her black coffee and trying to keep her eyes open while Trixie packed her bag for her daddy-day. She insisted on packing it all by herself, because _'she was a big girl now'_. Chloe just had to make sure that also some clothes found their place in between all the toys.

She could barely concentrate as her mind was still half in clouds and only recognised that her phone was ringing when her daughter stopped jumping on her bed and asked her if she didn't want to take the call. She quickly shook herself out of her daze, excused herself, and rushed out of the room, grabbing the phone from out of her pocket. But it was too late. The caller had hung up just as she was about to press the answer button. At least she could check who it was, she told herself and switched it on. Lucifer's name flashed up on her screen and she was about to hit the recall button when a text message from him popped up: _Meet me at LUX, ASAP! 'Shoot!'_ it went through her head. That really sounded urgent. And she still had to get her child ready and drop her off at Dan's. _'Bugger!'_

She turned around and headed to the living room where Maze was sitting on the couch, eating her cereals with a healthy dose of vodka and watching cartoons. "Maaazeee," she whined her name and leant over the backrest.

Maze instantly rolled her eyes at the familiar tone in her voice. "Oh no! Don't tell me you want me to babysit your child again!" she grumbled.

"No!" Chloe negated and shook her head in support. "But can you drop her off at Dan's in an hour?" Seeing her friends crumbled face, she quickly added, "I just got a text from Lucifer. He needs me for something really urgent, please Maze," she begged.

"Yeah," Maze huffed. "I wonder what that _'urgent_ ' is!" she countered sardonically and turned her head to take another spoonful. Scrunching until her mouth was empty again, she turned her head back and nodded firmly. "You owe me, Decker!" she reminded her dryly. "Big time!"

"Thank you!" Chloe exclaimed and wrapped her arm around her neck, ignoring her friend's distasteful grimace as she gave her a hasty hug before she rushed back into her daughter's room. "Hey monkey," she called Trixie, getting her attention. Stepping up to her bed, she grasped her daughter, picking her up, and informed her, "Maze will bring you to your dad, OK? I've got a really important call from Lucifer, and he needs me for something urgently."

"OK," Trixie agreed right away and gave her mother a goodbye hug. "Tell Lucifer I said 'hi'," she let her know as Chloe put her back on the bed.

"Will do. Bye, babe," she replied and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I love you so much!"

"Bye, Mummy, love you, too," Trixie responded and waved until her mother was out of the room.

Chloe went directly to the kitchen counter, feeling for her phone again to make sure she had it with her. She grabbed the printed information, folded it several times and put it in her trousers pocket before she reached for her gun and batch. Having all the important stuff with her, she turned her head back to Maze. "Thanks again, Maze. Don't forget, 8 o'clock at Dan's." Maze raised her arm, waving her hand to let her know she'd understood. "Bye!" Chloe said to her and rushed out of the house.

When she sat in the car, she quickly texted Lucifer back that she was on her way, and then started the engine, driving off to LUX.

/-/

Chloe entered LUX as fast as she could, but when she spotted Lucifer casually leaning against the railing, watching someone working at the elevator, and then looking at her with a bright smile on his face, she stopped midway, squinted her eyes, pursed her lips and bit her tongue to not let loose a tirade on him at once. There surely was something explainable why he didn't look in need or in danger. And if not, she would make sure he'd be soon.

"So, what is the emergency?" she asked inquisitively and stopped next to him, folding her arms and staring at him warily.

"Good morning, Detective," he greeted her in a cheerful mood. He pushed himself off the railing and took a step towards the man who now stood inside the elevator. "Meet Diego," he kindly introduced him, pointing at him with his outstretched arm while his eyes were fixed on her.

Reluctantly and with a vexed huff towards Lucifer, Chloe stepped closer to the man, and greeted him friendly, "Good morning."

"Ma'am," Diego replied politely, nodding back.

"This is Detective Decker I've told you about," Lucifer informed the worker.

Chloe was about to ask why he'd told this man about her and what exactly had his words been, as Lucifer grabbed her by her arm with two fingers and pulled her closer, slightly pushing her into the cubicle as she was in front of him.

Diego took a step back and gestured towards a big touchscreen. "Could you please place your right hand on the screen, ma'am," he casually requested.

"Why?" Chloe questioned sceptically.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Could you please do as told and ask questions later?" he urged her, giving away his impatience.

Chloe growled at him, but still, put her hand on the screen. A light-green stripe appeared, running down and up again to scan her hand. When it was done, Diego signalled her to step back out again. She did and turned around, watching the man disconnect the big touchscreen from the insides of the elevator wire. Then, he connected the loose wire with a socket on a control panel that up to now was hanging down, and grabbed the panel, putting it back into its mounting on the wall. He fastened it in place and then began to press several buttons on the much smaller screen until a programme started.

"It's ready now," Diego informed him, nodded and started packing his stuff back together.

"Excellent!" Lucifer exclaimed, beaming all over his face.

Chloe turned her head to him and asked, perplexed, "What is ready?" Not waiting for his answer, she added, "And why is _Diego_ ," she emphasised the name, "working on a Sunday morning?" She stared at him expectantly and absent-mindedly tapped with her finger on her arm, awaiting an answer.

Lucifer pressed his lips to a thin line, hoping this way he could prevent his smirk from showing up on his face, but without success, he had to admit, as he received an angry glare combined with a frown from her. "He owed me a favour," he answered her quickly and said his goodbye to the man who nodded and left.

"Of course!" Chloe countered, not hiding the sardonic undertone. "And the other question?" she prompted him sharply.

"Don't be in such a rush," Lucifer retorted, his voice slightly raised in amusement at the end. He flashed her another grin and gestured her to step into the elevator, promising her to explain right away.

Chloe eyed him sceptically. But she wasn't in the mood to play any game with him now and did what he told her to. When Lucifer stepped to her and told her to press a finger onto the little touchscreen, she reflexively asked, "Which one?"

"Any of your right hand," he answered, his jovial mood not ceased in the slightest.

One of her eyebrows went up into her hairline. She didn't quite know what to think of his bright behaviour at such a time of the day, especially his cheeky smile made her suspicious. But she also knew that she wouldn't get anything more out of him right now, and so she complied and, testing it right away, put her little finger on the screen. "Hello, Detective," an artificial voice greeted her, and she slightly startled before she hastily put on a cool expression.

"Isn't that fancy?" Lucifer called out, grinning like a child on Christmas, and turned to the doors as they slid shut and the elevator started to move upwards.

Chloe stared at the closed doors, and at Lucifer right next to her. She was surprised that this time, none of her usual fears came up. Was it because of her lack of sleep? Or because the past days with him gave her back this sense of safety that she always felt around him? She shook her head and pushed the thoughts away. Right now wasn't the time to wonder about them. Right now, she was angry at him. "You still didn't explain anything," she reminded him dryly.

"Ah, yes," Lucifer nodded, turned his head to her and with the support of his hand, gesturing to the device, he started, "That is the newest security technology. No one who enters this lift will be able to get up into the penthouse if their fingerprints haven't been registered first. So far, there are only three people who have unrestrained access: Me, Candy, and, now, you," he pointed out and flashed her a quick, cheeky grin.

The screen in the elevator silently displayed the numbers, and when they reached the penthouse, it gave a short notification. Without a sound, the doors slid open.

"Why is there no ping?" Chloe asked him, confused, and at his gesture, stepped out of the cubicle.

Lucifer followed her suit. With his outstretched hand, he kept her from walking further into the room, while his other hand pointed to the wall next to the lift, turning her attention to the screen that was newly installed. "It annoyed me, so I let it get removed," he answered her with a shrug of his shoulders.

Chloe looked at him, the frown on her forehead getting deeper. "Lucifer, you've installed the sound to know when someone arrives here," she noted with concern.

"That's not necessary any longer, my dear," he countered, and his features suddenly turned serious. "Unless it's one of us three," he started calmly and demonstratively pressed a button on the video intercom. A ringing tone resounded and he continued explaining, "This is what you will hear. Then you can walk up to the intercom, look at who's in the lift and decide whether you want them to get up here or not," he ended and flashed her a toothy smile.

Even with the big smile on his face, his eyes showed that his mood hadn't changed and Chloe started to worry. "Why all that?" she wondered, perplexed, pushing her feelings back down. This must have cost a fortune, she thought to herself. Not that he'd care! Still, when he wanted more privacy, then why didn't he let this get installed when he'd arrived back here, she wondered, but only now, with the new things he found out recently...

Lucifer shrugged his shoulders again. His smile faded away when he replied to her, his words scratching a little too close to home, "I just don't want anyone possible to enter this apartment any longer." He turned around and headed to his bar, as he mentioned, his voice cheerful again, "After all, this is a home and not a walk-through room."

Chloe shook her head and took a breath, silently exhaling again through her nose to sort her thoughts. She couldn't quite get rid of the feeling that what had happened to her had somehow played a part in his decision to let this get installed. And strangely, this idea made the corners of her lips stretch upwards. She wanted to think that he'd done this so she could feel safe again... When he raised a freshly poured glass into her direction, she hastily put her stern mask back on and denied his offer. "Speaking of," she started and trailed off, looking around the open living area. It didn't seem like anyone else was here, too, she recognised. She turned her attention back to him, spotting his eyes fixed at her, awaiting a question, and she gave it promptly, "Where is your wife?" Not that she was keen on seeing her. But she also was puzzled that during this whole week he'd been back again, she only got to see that person once, and that was rather by accident than by intention.

"Went out for shopping," he answered nonchalantly and took a sip from his glass. When he saw her raising her eyebrows, he quickly added, "I've sent her off to have a good day. So, today, I'm all yours, darling."

Chloe bit her lip to keep herself from smiling at his words, and the different meaning her inner self associated them with, and pushed her happy emotions back down where they belonged. She reminded herself once again that he was married now, and therefore was and would be out of bounds for her, regardless of the words he'd said to her daughter yesterday; and regardless of the words, he'd told her two days ago. No matter how much they warmed her from within or calmed her down when she felt an inner unrest arise and recalled them to her mind. They were partners; Somewhat. And there was no chance they would ever become something more! Taking a deep breath, she turned her full attention back to him and started, "This friend of Maze," she halted shortly as she saw him instantly getting serious and taking a couple of steps towards her. "He found out that one phone number belonged to Galant's lawyer. The other caller, however, belonged to an unregistered cell phone. He couldn't find out the identity but managed to pin down the location of the cell phone to a place within this region." She grabbed the sheets from her pocket and unfolded them, giving the one in particular to Lucifer.

Lucifer grasped the paper from her and looked at it attentively. Depicted on it were the outlines of a city block, surrounded by three green circles which overlapped in the middle. "The caller must have come from inside this area?" he checked with her, his voice filled with the importance of the situation.

"Yes," she confirmed. "I've already looked it up. It's a block containing eight buildings," she told him and held the second sheet of paper towards him. "Maze's friend had pinged the phone and it currently is there somewhere."

"Maybe this guy lives there," Lucifer commented quietly, his sight fixed on the outlines of the buildings.

Chloe shrugged her shoulders, not so sure on that part. "These are old buildings. Some of them used to belong to a factory complex that's been abandoned for some time now." On the other hand, it shot through her head, this would be the perfect place to hide when someone didn't want to be found by anyone... Her fingers started to tremble slightly at the prospect of finding this man soon, and she quickly rubbed her hands together to get her nerves back under control.

Preoccupied with thoughts, Lucifer nodded to himself. "Let me grab my jacket and then we'll search the whole area," he informed her determinedly and gave her back the papers. He turned around and made his way over to his dressing room, putting the drink in his hand on the grand as he passed it.

Out of reflex, Chloe walked a couple of steps after him, until it shot through her head that his bedroom was right next to it and she froze in terror. Forcing herself to breathe, she pushed her feelings back down once again, clenched her fists and quickly turned around to walk straight back to the elevator. But before she set her foot forward, she stopped abruptly. The sneak peek she got at the room during the rotation flared up in front of her inner eye, and, confused, she turned back around to confirm herself that her mind hadn't played her a trick. She did a double take when she beheld it: It was completely empty! Even the paint had been removed, showing nothing but the bare wall underneath. "Where's your bedroom?" she inquired, flabbergasted.

He came back out of the dressing room, his suit jacket already on, and sent her a light smile, answering nonchalantly, "Moved it over into Maze's former room." Seeing her perplexed stare, he added casually, "I've wanted some more privacy."

Unaware to herself, she wrapped her arms around her waist, shielding herself as she stared back and forth between him and the room, and cautiously probed him further, "And what are you putting into this room?"

"An office," he answered without a second thought and lightly shrugged his shoulders. So far, this decision wasn't final, but he still couldn't come up with a better idea.

Chloe twisted her mouth and eyes in bewilderment. "What do you need an office for?" she wondered baffled.

"Don't know," Lucifer answered shortly-spoken and shrugged his shoulders again, this time more visible. "I'll find out when I have one." Pushing down the beginning of the emotions that had crawled up on him at the reminder, he flashed her a brief smile and gestured towards the exit, walking ahead.

Chloe gazed at him, frowning, but followed quickly before the gap was too big. She felt relieved that she seemed to have no problem walking through this apartment any longer... as long as Lucifer was within reach. When the doors of the elevator slid open again and Lucifer stepped inside, she placed herself right next to him, sending a wary glance towards him from out of the corners of her eyes. The smile he'd given her had looked put on. As if he was hiding something behind it, it ran through her head, and she frowned again.

/-/

It's been already the second time that the thought ' _this is all useless!_ ' had crossed her mind, and Chloe cursed under her breath as she stepped into the next room, pushing away the sheet metal. This house had been swamped with made-shift homes from people on the streets, most of them long gone again. But here and there, they've come across one who slept it off or was brewing something on a self-made cooker that could set the whole block on fire. And with no functioning fire alarm or sprinkler system, Chloe was surprised that this house was still standing.

She searched the room, pushing old, grotty mattresses to the side with her shoe and shining with her torch into the little cardboard cave. Nothing! They've been searching for hours by now and were already through almost half of the eight buildings, but still, they had absolutely nothing: No one who even remotely resembled Galant and no one who had seen him around here. While the survivor in her was relieved at that fact, tremendously, if she was honest with herself, the Detective in her, that wanted nothing more than to finally find this bastard, got more frustrated with every passing hour. And this part of her outweighed her emotions at the moment. Grumbling to herself, she turned around and left the room again.

Lucifer walked up to her when he saw her emerging from the room she'd disappeared in. "Any success?" he wanted to know, still letting resonate a touch of hope with his words. He'd asked her this question so often by now, that his mind already answered him in her voice and exactly her tone, together with the eye-roll, before she would do it in person. He secretly bit his lip when, as predicted, she did exactly that. Seeing the hint of a growl flashing across her face, when she furrowed her brows, narrowed her eyes and compressed her lips so cutely, had been the only highlight for him for the last couple of hours. At least he could find a piece of pleasure in this dark and dreary building.

When Chloe turned back around, heading for the next entry, he called after her, "Maybe a break will do it? Getting some fresh air, a bite to eat, perhaps?" He didn't suggest this because of the exhaustion he'd seen in her eyes the moment she stepped into his flash of light. Right now, he purely did this because for half an hour now, his stomach was rumbling terribly. And his suit started to smell after these holes. And his feet were sore. His shoes weren't made for walking up and down fifteen storeys, especially not in a row.

Chloe insistently shook her head. "I want to finish this house before noon at least," she told him decisively and continued walking.

"Are you joking? That's three more storeys in not even 20 minutes," Lucifer countered in disbelief, and rushed after her. "Please, Detective," he begged and silently cursed at himself. It was a new low that he, Lucifer Morningstar, begged. But right now his blood sugar level was so close to zero that he didn't care. "I've said I'll help you catch that bastard, but one more floor and you'll have to carry me," he warned her and narrowed his eyes to make clear he meant it. And Chloe would have taken him seriously, he was sure, if not his stomach chose in that moment to rumble like an air hammer.

"Stop whining, Lucifer," she shot back, and exhaled a drained sigh. "The less you complain, the faster we can get this done. And the quicker you'll get your bite," she encouraged him and went around the corner.

Lucifer heard her walking up the stairs and quickly rushed after her to not lose her out of his sight for too long. Not that he thought she couldn't protect herself. He just didn't trust this place. "Fine!" he retorted grumpily when he was within her earshot again, mumbling under his breath as he eyed her, "But only when I get to decide from whom I'm gonna get that bite."

/-/

All in all, it took them twice as long as Chloe wanted to have cleared that building as well. She took a deep breath of fresh air when they finally were down at her car again. She didn't want to admit it, not to him, and especially not to herself, but she also needed the break. Her body was exhausted. And she couldn't deny herself some rest any longer, even if this meant that all the distressing thoughts that she'd managed to keep down for so long now had a new opportunity to crawl back into her head. She squinted her eyes shut for a moment and took another breath, telling herself that there was enough time to worry about her thoughts later and that she could make use of her clear mind as long as she had it. Nodding to herself, she opened the passenger door and leant forward to reach into the glove compartment.

Lucifer was already in eager anticipation of choosing the location for their lunch and hummed in delight while he waited for Chloe to make room for him to sit down. When she turned back around, holding a cereal bar towards him, his jaw almost dropped down to the floor. "What's that?" he inquired and stared at her aghast.

"Your lunch," she commented dryly, veering it around some more until he finally grabbed it.

"Really?" Lucifer cried and leant against the side of the car. "If you can't afford a real meal from your breadline wage, then, by all means, be my guest. As long as we can eat something _properly_!" he emphasised the word, making clear that he was slowly losing his patience.

"Why are you such a whiner today?" Chloe asked, vexed, as she looked up at him, her own muesli bar in hand. His eyes narrowed down and she quickly appeased him, "Look, Lucifer. I really appreciate all the help you give me. And as soon as we're done here, I will invite you to whatever meal you want to have, wherever you want it. But as long as I haven't turned each stone in this area, I'm not leaving here. Sorry," she made clear and flashed him an apologetic smile.

Lucifer nodded, understanding her to the fullest, and sighed. "I'll take you up on that, Detective," he countered, sent her a weak smile to raise the mood again, and bit into his snack.

He'd barely finished his meagre meal when suddenly his phone rang, interrupting the silence. Grumbling slightly at the disturbance, he retrieved it from out of his pocket, stole a glance at the caller and then, with an eye-roll, answered. "Yes?" he gruffed into the receiver. His features changed to that of confusion, mixed with a tad worry as he listened to her rambling. "Candy, stop crying! I can't hear you!" he demanded and paid further attention to her words. He pushed himself off of the car and took several steps. "Again. Slower this time," he told her, his voice gentler, and turned around, walking back to the car. His head nodded slightly with every fact he finally understood. Exhaling a deep sigh, he answered her question, "No!... Just leave, alright?" He listened to her shortly, before he interrupted her, "I understand that you're scared, but I can't come and pick you up. Just call a cab and go home." Her rambling got louder again. "Candy," he sternly cut her off, "I'm not coming to you!... No!... Because I have work to do!" he snapped back, breathing out some more air as his patience started to wear thin. "Look, Candy. I know. I'm sorry. I have to work. See you at home. Bye!" With that, he hung up and put the phone back into his pocket. How could she demand that he'd leave here to pick her up? That he would leave Chloe alone? Sighing again, he shook his head, pushed the anger about the call to the back of his mind, and put on a nonchalant smile. He turned around to Chloe and startled, as he beheld her frowning stare tacked at him.

"What was that?" she demanded to know with a mixture of concern and reproof.

Lucifer's eyebrows shot skywards as he hemmed and then answered, shrugging it off as non-important, "Just my dear wife. She was scared because someone was following her."

"What?" Chloe exclaimed. She couldn't believe his behaviour. Didn't he care at all about his wife? Didn't he know what could happen to a woman who was alone on the streets? Even in broad daylight? And Candy even told him that somebody was following her! Shaking her head in complete bewilderment, she stood up from her seat, folded her arms in front of her chest, and growled at him, "And you told her to ' _just go home_ '?"

"Well," he started, and stared at her with wide eyes and a blank mind. "Yes," he eventually replied, not quite knowing whether it was a statement or a question that left his lips.

Chloe gaped briefly before she bundled all her anger about his words in a huff and narrowed her eyes. "Lucifer, you can't just tell her to go home when she's obviously in danger!" she scolded him furiously and sternly stared at him.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. After all, Candy was a demon in a human body. It wasn't like she was defenceless. "She's tough. She'll get along," he simply replied, not understanding why she made such a fuss about it.

"Yeah," Chloe countered fiercely, sending him a death glare as she gripped her arms tighter. "I'm tough, too, and look what happened to me!" she retorted snappishly. The knuckles on her hands had turned white. She pressed her teeth together, forcing herself to not say anything further, and walked a couple of steps to release the anger that instantly had built up inside of her. He should know what could happen! When no one's there to protect you! To help you! He'd seen all the results painted in red on the wall of the precinct! it shot through her head, and she bit down the surge of tears that crawled up on her. No! She wouldn't cry now! She was too angry for that!

Lucifer narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. He knew damn well what had happened to her! It was etched into his memory as if someone had carved it into the insides of his skull, and he couldn't forget it for just a moment, even if he wanted to. He didn't need her, on top of that, to remind him in such a way. Huffing, miffed, he replied, not really awaiting an answer, "What do you expect me to do?"

"You're her husband!" she cried out in frustration, her tone bitter as she added, "Act like one!" When all he did was raise his arms and give her a puzzled look, she ordered sternly, "Go, grab your phone and call her back." When he didn't comply right away with her demand, she hissed, enraged, "Now!" She took a deep breath, calling herself back to order, to not let her further words get influenced by her emotions again.

Lucifer hastily grasped for his phone and pressed the recall button, holding the little device to his ear. The line connected and once again, he heard Candy's voice on the other end, still filled with tears. "Yes, darling, it's me again. Hold on a second," he told her in a pleasant tone and turned his attention to Chloe, asking her cluelessly, "What shall I do now?"

"Where is she at the moment?" Chloe asked calmly, her mind completely in police mode.

"Honey, where are you?" Lucifer repeated and attentively listened to her. Then, he nodded and turned his head back to Chloe. "On one of these shopping streets," he informed her, "She said she started at Rodeo Drive off Wilshire Boulevard. Then, where The Torso is, she went right. And then she went left because she wanted to see the Cheesecake Factory."

"Ah," Chloe called out, nodding her head. "I know where this is," she stated. She pressed her lips into thin lines as she thought about the next steps. "Tell her to look for a café, go inside and stay there," she dictated, adding in a little less demanding tone, "She doesn't need to order something, but I want her to be seen by the staff."

Lucifer affirmed his understanding and turned his sight away as he spoke into the receiver, "Darling, do you see a café there somewhere?... Yes, go inside there." He turned back to Chloe, informing her, "She went inside the M Café."

Chloe nodded. "Stay where the staff can see her. Order something. Make herself get noticed by the staff," she repeated her command, watching Lucifer comply without hesitation. "And tell her to wait for us, we'll come and get her," she added, observing Lucifer's every word. When he was done, she added, having almost forgotten it herself, "And tell her to act normal. I don't want the guy to get suspicious and flee." She saw Lucifer's nod and eased up a bit.

With another cheerful "Bye" into the receiver, Lucifer ended the call. He turned his head back to Chloe, asking her perplexed, "We'll get there?" He stared at her in disbelief and without missing a beat rephrased the question to assure himself, "You mean, you'll send some police to her?"

"No," Chloe denied, shaking her head decidedly and moving her finger back and forth between them as she clarified, "We two will go there right away."

"But what about finding this Galant-twin?" Lucifer objected vehemently. After all, he did skip lunch to find this scumbag! He wouldn't just leave this place without having at least searched the other four buildings.

Chloe took a deep breath. His words angered her, although she could fully understand them. She herself had told him not to leave without clearing them all. It was just, he wasn't voicing the priorities she would have expected from him. That he acted so coldly towards someone he was married to, someone he was supposed to be in love with, was completely against her beliefs. She knew, he had many emotions deep down there inside of him. She knew how much he could care about someone. So, why was he acting that way? "Lucifer, your wife just told you that she's getting followed by someone and that she's scared," she calmly recalled the facts. "And we don't even know if this Galant-twin is actually here. All we have is the location of his phone that got pinged about eight hours ago. Right now, her safety is more important than justice. Understood?" she told him determinedly and, without further words, walked around the car and got into the driver's seat. If he didn't want to be there for his wife, then _she_ would make sure Candy was safe.

Lucifer sighed but gave in. He couldn't quite get rid of the feeling that this whole incident with Candy just now had set the things between Chloe and him a step back, maybe even several. Frowning, he sat down as well and closed the door so she could drive off.

* * *

 **A/N:** End of the chapter. I hope you liked it. Please let me know. And a little challenge for you: Since Lucifer has his former bedroom completely empty now. Maybe some of you have an idea what he could turn this into. Soooo, suggestions for the room are open. :D Maybe yours will be picked for a later chapter ;)

Have a nice day!

:o)


	6. If I had a time machine

**A/N:** Hello my dears. First of all, I'm so very sorry that this chapter took me AGES to write. To my defence: I recently got new medication that made it almost impossible for me to concentrate on writing, and then with the whole thing that went on on FFN, this pushed me even further back and my muse disappeared completely.

Especially to Mischief-With-Sandra, I owe my biggest apology. I didn't only once but twice promise you to get the chapter up. I hope the chapter somehow makes up for that. In my mind, this chapter is one of the most powerful ones of this story, and I couldn't upload it before I was satisfied with it.

Now to the content:  
Because I couldn't help myself, for those of you who are familiar with a certain different show one of our main cast used to be in, I borrowed two characters for a cameo. (If you don't spot them right away, I will reveal the name of the show at the end of the chapter) :D

And a big **THANK YOU** goes to my **beta** Daemon, of course, who spent not only grammatical guidance but also, and this was the major part, emotional support throughout the whole ordeal of writing.

Anyway, off to the chapter!

Enjoy!

* * *

 _If I had a time machine_

o ~ o

 _It would have been a starry night if not the innumerous lights coming from the city of Las Vegas below had outshone them all. But Lucifer didn't care about the sky tonight. He was standing in the middle of his hotel room. The opened book rested safely on his left arm, the forefinger of his right hand pointing at the line he soon would start from. His eyes were fixed on the only clock in the room, and its minute hand, that seemed to move slower the further it reached towards the ninth mark._

 _Lucifer stared at the clock with the greatest anticipation: Only a couple of minutes were left, less than the fingers one could count on their hand until he would start his incantation... and would finally find out if this book really delivered what it had promised. The smirk that tugged at the corners of his mouth grew when the minute hand was only one mark away from its destination. 60 seconds, and Lucifer silently counted down._

 _It had to be something with a nine; a nine was always and would always be a magical number. Three times three. The more he used, the better his plans would play out. Therefore, he chose the ninth minute of the ninth hour of today._

 _Finally, the time had come!_

 _With a powerful voice, he began to read the magical spell, line by line, that would open up a gate to both worlds: heaven and hell. He made sure to pronounce each word with the utmost accuracy he was capable of. No, his plans to finally take revenge on both his parents would not be destroyed by a possible slip of his tongue._

 _The second hand on the clock took a full rotation, and when the minute hand landed on the tenth mark, Lucifer's incantation was complete._

 _It was done!_

 _Satisfied with himself, he shut the book with a loud *thud* and took a deep, liberating breath. In nine weeks from now, a portal to the other worlds would open. Only nine weeks until he got his ultimate freedom. He chose this date so he had enough time to gather up all the things he needed to fulfil his plan. It was risky to open a gate to both worlds, especially at the same place in quick successions, but Lucifer was more than eager to take the chance. 'Come hell or... well... heaven,' he thought and smiled. No demand was too big, no price too high that the book could want from him in return. He was willing to give anything he had for his vengeance. There was nothing left to lose, anyway. But all the more to gain, he told himself, and he would make sure to get the best possible out of his newly acquired opportunity._

 _/-/_

 _With the book of heaven and hell firmly tucked under his arm, Lucifer entered the morgue. It was already past midnight when he inspected the fourth building on his list. He knew what he was looking for, or rather... who, and none of the morgues before could provide him with a body that came even close to what he had in mind. It seemed as if in this night there couldn't be found a suitable shell for his next companion anywhere. But he wouldn't stop until he had her._

 _Making sure that he was undisturbed, he walked down the stairs to the basement, opened the heavy metal door, and went over to the cold chambers. He bent slightly forward to read what was written on the identification plates. 'Empty, empty, young male, old female, old male, empty, male, young male, empty, empty, ah,' he silently shouted as he found a young female. "Let's see what's behind door number one," Lucifer mumbled and, with a firm grip on the handle, opened the door and pulled out the stretcher. The body was covered with a white sheet. He grabbed it and lifted it up a bit to have a look, just to drop it right away and jump back, shuddering with disgust. "Nah!" He shook himself to get the picture out of his head again: Shot wounds directly to the face were never enjoyable to look at. Pushing the stretcher back inside, he shut the door and continued searching._

 _It was the second last chamber where he found another young female. He had to crouch down to open the door and pull out the stretcher. Wiser this time, he reached for the identification note that hung around the toe, pulling it off. 'Jane Doe, drug overdose,' he silently read and a light smile stretched the corners of his lips. "Let's have a look at you, Jane Doe," he muttered and raised the sheet. "Oh," it left his lips as he saw the corpse's face, "what a beautiful, young lady you are." He quickly checked the rest of her body to see the state of decomposition she was in. "Well," he mumbled and took a closer look at the puncture wounds on her arms. Approving of the body, he commented in a hushed voice, "Jane, I think you're about to get a new purpose."_

 _He turned around, looking for a chair, and when he found a little footstool, he grabbed it and placed it right next to the stretcher, sitting down. Opening his big book at the particular page, he began to speak the summoning spell. When he was done, he looked at the body, trying to find any hint_ _that_ _the spell had worked... but there was nothing. Lucifer raised one eyebrow in puzzlement. 'Maybe the line is blocked,' it went through his head and he decided to wait a little longer._

 _Five minutes had passed, but still, there was no sign that the summoning spell had worked. "Damn it!" he cursed under his breath, and with a loud *bang*_ _he_ _shut the book. The anger inside of him rose, seething under the surface, and his eyes flared up fiery red. "This whole thing was just a bloody waste of time!" he hissed through gritted teeth. He balled his fist when chagrin and disappointment added up to the mix of his emotions, tightening the grip of his other hand on the book. Frustrated, he turned around and was about to leave the room as a rustling noise came to his ear. He stopped in his track, for a moment completely stiff, but then decided to turn and have a look._

 _When he beheld the body again, he saw that she was sitting up and blankly stared in his direction. "Oh!" he uttered in delight. "Well, hello," he greeted her in a singsong voice, his anger instantly forgotten. He walked back to the body, holding out his hand to her. Her cold fingers grasped around his and he carefully helped her up._

 _She looked down at herself, inspecting the new gained shell of human flesh: Her sight wandered up her thighs, across her chest and to the hand that was still encompassed by Lucifer. She looked at him, blinking several times to get used to those human eyes and to sharpen their focus. Then, she finally recognised him, and exclaimed in awe and astonishment, "My Lord?!"_

 _As it gradually sunk in, Lucifer let out a relieved sigh; his eyes widened in excitement and joy. "It really worked," he whispered cheerily and_ _scrutinised_ _her body some more. The pale bluish colour of her skin started to disappear, giving place to a soft beige-pink, and he stretched her arm a little, his eyes fixed on the puncture marks; slowly they vanished as well. Sighing once again, delighted that the spell had worked and, therewith, that the book had proven to be indeed useful, a sudden thought went through his head, making him frown. Did he really get the correct demon down from hell? Wanting to make sure of it, he_ _asked_ _her sternly, "What is your name, demon?"_

 _"I'm Candiceen, my Lord. How can I serve you?" she replied and took a deep bow._

 _"Perfect!" he purred and grabbed her chin, lifting her head up. "Alright, Candiceen, I've called you here for a very special task, a purpose you have to fulfil, and you must not fail," he declared right away, his voice deep and serious._

 _"Whatever you wish, my Lord," Candy answered with a smile and bowed again in front of him._

 _"Well," he began and once more lifted her chin to make her look at him. "Since you're in the human world now, you have to abide by certain rules. And rule number one is, do not bow to me!"_

 _Candy looked at him, slightly confused, and for a moment she didn't know how to state her reply. Seeing his piercing eyes staring expectantly at her, she quickly confirmed, "I've understood, my Lord!" She smiled as she saw his pleased expression._

 _"Stay!" Lucifer ordered and let go of her hand, bending down to grab the sheet and wrap it around her naked body. "Now come, there's a lot I need to show you," he announced, placed his arm around her shoulder, and started to walk. She wasn't used to this human body and a little clumsy on her legs, almost tripping over her feet, and Lucifer quickly grasped around her waist to keep her from falling. Deciding that this was a better way to keep her upright, his arm remained in its place as he led her outside._

 _He smiled satisfied while he guided her to his car. In nine weeks from now, he would open the gates. Then, finally, he would have his revenge... and Candy would be his sword._

o ~ o

Chloe was the first at the coffee shop Candy was supposed to be inside. With Lucifer right on her heels, she stepped up to the door, grabbed the handle, and swung it widely into the shop. A ringing sound announced their arrival, and she walked further into the café as suddenly a figure came rushing past her, quick like a flash, and swung her arms around her partner.

"I was so scared, Luci!" whined Candy, almost crushing him with her embrace. "Thank you so much for coming to me!"

Lucifer stood stiffly for a moment, submitting to her personal display of affection, and awkwardly patted her back a couple of times with the fingers of one hand. Then he grabbed her arms, pulling her off of him, and shoved her back into the shop so Chloe could let the door fall shut behind them. "Don't thank me," he replied with a touch of roughness in his voice, and let go of her. "Thank the Detective," he pointed out and nodded towards her, "she's the one that insisted on us getting to you."

Candy stared at him, perplexed for a second, and then briefly followed his gaze before her attention shot back at him. She registered the light smile that tugged at the corners of his lips while he saw over to the Detective. In a dash of jealousy, she narrowed her eyes, but when she looked back at Chloe, her features softened enough to acknowledge her with an honest "thanks".

Having her true emotions hidden under a professional mask, Chloe responded with a nod and a slight smile while she removed her tight grip from the handle of her gun, which she'd reflexively grasped at the sudden move. She gestured towards the corner Candy had come from to sit back down, and watched how Candy instantly clasped her hands around one of Lucifer's arms and dragged him over to her seat at the table. With his back now turned to her, Chloe finally exhaled her scare and with a deep breath called herself to order. She turned to the windows, briefly checking the people outside to make sure that no one looked suspicious, and then, with her mind in police mode, she walked after them, took a seat opposite to the couple, and got out her notepad and pen. She wanted to gather as much information as possible about that stalker first before she would go after him. "Alright, have you seen this man before?" asked Chloe and eyed Candy attentively.

"Uh-huh," she answered and nodded in the affirmative. "It's the same man who broke into our apartment four days ago," she let her know and leant back, grasping Lucifer's arm again and snuggling into his side.

Seeing them so closely together sent a sharp pain through Chloe's chest that rapidly spread out and choked her from the inside. She hastily lowered her gaze, taking more time to scribble down the little information while she forced herself to keep breathing evenly. Distracted by this inner turmoil, her composure faltered and inexorably the event of this morning shot back into her head; what he'd said to her and, specifically, how he'd behaved towards her, and inside of her arose a fight between her head and her heart: Maybe the new security system wasn't because of her at all, but only because someone invaded their home... But then again... Lucifer hadn't seemed concerned about that in the slightest, and while he'd explained the new security system to her, he'd used the word 'you', not 'him' or 'Candy' or 'we'. He'd said 'you' as if he wanted to make sure that she'd understood that this place was safe again. Also, he didn't seem worried when he heard Candy's cries through the phone, and right now Chloe recognised as she stole a glance towards them, Lucifer's sight was directed at the shop windows while Candy pressed herself further into him, trying to get his attention by gripping around his waist and pulling tightly. Still, he didn't deign a look at her, and his stark and stiff posture rather seemed as if he didn't like being so close to his wife. He showed no affection towards her, no compassion... completely the opposite of what she was used to from him; what she'd seen from him; what she'd expected from him... Well, on a second guess, Lucifer never was a friend of such closeness towards people. Especially when something troubled him, he used to shy away from the people he had an emotional connection with. Maybe it did matter to him that Candy was being stalked, and he just didn't know what to do with those emotions?... But, couldn't he at least show some devotion towards her? After all, she was his wife! Maybe by sending her an assuring smile, or giving her a squeeze of her hand, or a comforting hug? She herself knew how good it felt to get hugged by him, and he didn't seem to have a problem with hugging or touching her for that matter... Shaking herself out of her train of thoughts, Chloe focussed back on the task ahead, cleared her throat, and asked, "Can you describe how that man looked?"

Candy turned her head to her and hastily nodded, a slight glint in her eyes at the received attention. She stared upwards to call the picture of him to mind and answered, "He's a little bit taller than me, weighs about twice as much. He has a little belly, but you can't see it because the sling around his arm covers half of his front."

"He has a sling around his arm?" interjected Chloe, instantly hooked on that small but all the more important detail. Instead of seeing another one of her eager nods, however, Candy's gaze went southwards and she huddled up closer to Lucifer, almost as if she wanted to hide.

"When he broke into our home, he was about to steal something," Candy began quietly and then admitted with a voice barely above a whisper, "I grabbed him by his arm and twisted it around. It cracked. He yelled out and fled the apartment." With a deep sigh, she looked up at Chloe again, and added, assuming, "I think I've broken his arm, and that's why it's in a sling now."

Seeing her visible discomfort and some tears sparkling at the corners of her eyes, Chloe quickly sent her an encouraging smile and assured her, "That was self-defence! You don't need to fear any trouble for that."

"Really?" Candy wanted to make sure, her face instantly lit up. When she saw the Detective nod, she smiled even brighter and straightened herself in confidence. How good it was to know that whenever someone would invade their home again, she could hurt them however she pleased... Grinning, she gave Chloe another nod and then went on with her description, "He's wearing a black jacket, blue jeans, and he has short, grey hair that is still a little light brown in the middle. He looks scary," she added and leant herself back into Lucifer at the reminder.

Chloe nodded and continued scribbling down the facts, her sight firmly fixed on the sheet of paper in front of her to not let her heart wander off again. When she was done, she re-read the information, drawing herself a picture of him in her head. _'A man with a sling around his arm would be easy to recognise,'_ she thought. If not right away, then they could always get her to the precinct to make a full statement and get a sketch drawn. "When did you last see him?" Chloe asked and looked back at her.

"After he followed me around for some time, I got scared and went into the bathroom of that one shop from where I called Lucifer," she recalled the event. "Then, I went back out but I didn't see him. When Lucifer called me back and I went inside of here, I ordered a coffee and sat down, acting as if I was reading something. I looked up from time to time and saw him peeking through the shop window. When he noticed that I saw him, he quickly turned around. He still might be here somewhere," she guessed and flashed her a sanguine smile.

Chloe signalled her that she'd understood. "I want you to stay here," she made clear, "I'll go and check for this man. Maybe he's still around. If not, I'll file a report, get out his description, and let my colleagues look for him. Alright?" She saw Candy nodding and smiling with delight. When she glanced over to Lucifer, however, she was almost startled at his dark features and the piercing stare he sent her.

"I won't let you go out there and chase after a man who likes to _scare_ women!" he objected decidedly, not liking the idea at all. He wanted to keep her _safe_ , and not provide further opportunities for her to get in danger.

Chloe rolled her eyes and exhaled a low sigh. "You can come with me if you want," she dryly suggested and stood up from her chair. She hadn't even fully turned when Lucifer was already at her side.

"Don't go! Don't leave me!" cried Candy after him, instantly getting frightened again.

With his hands lightly touching the fabric of Chloe's jacket to make sure she wouldn't go without him, Lucifer turned himself halfway to her. "Candy, you're safe in here. Stay!" he ordered harshly, and turned back, ready to leave any minute. This time it was him who almost startled and he innerly winced at the glare he received from Chloe.

She was furious with him and could barely hold back the urge to punch him in the chest. Of course, Candy would be safe inside that shop, but couldn't he at least make it sound less like he was talking to a dog? Geez! She was his wife, for heaven's sake! And why was he so off with that woman, and at the same time didn't allow her to make even one step without him? Taking a deep breath and pushing her thoughts to the back of her mind, Chloe turned around and, without another word, left the café.

After she stepped onto the walkway, her head went left, then right, scanning the area as briefly as effectively, like she had done so many times before. Her gut instinct told her to move right, and so she went into that direction. She pushed herself past the crowd of people who were busy with their daily routines, checking each one that fit the description as she passed them by, and also glancing into the shop windows.

"Didn't you say I can come with you?" Lucifer's stern voice piped up behind her.

She slowed down a little so he could catch up. When she felt his presence close to her, she turned her head towards him, countering, "You are with me!" Not waiting for any reply, she turned her head again and fully concentrated on the people around her. She didn't look for someone with short, grey-brown hair in a black jacket, however. This man probably realised he'd been blown his cover, so if he didn't want to lose his target, he'd most likely changed. Different jacket, maybe a hat. What would be more difficult to find were trousers, the sling, and shoes. ' _Damn it!'_ it ran through her head. She forgot to ask about his shoes. But now it was too late, anyway, she figured and slightly shook her head, matching her thoughts. She reached the corner of the street and briefly stopped, looking left, then ahead, then right.

"Which road next?" asked Lucifer, using his height as an advantage to look above the heads of the other pedestrians, but he wasn't of any help; to him, everyone appeared to be different from the person Candy had described and he had absolutely no clue whom to search for.

Once again, Chloe shifted her sight in all directions. Then she saw him, wearing a green t-shirt and jeans, but with a sling around his arm, his head covered by a red base cap that was pulled down low over his face. "Looks like our guy," she mumbled to Lucifer and pointed over to the man. When the man glanced up, seeing their stares, and instantly turned around to flee, Chloe knew she hit jackpot and bolted after him. "LAPD. Freeze!" she yelled through the streets. It only helped that the other pedestrians moved out of her way as she ran after him. Far behind her, she heard a "Detective!" calling, but right now she couldn't wait for Lucifer. She needed to catch this man before he'd reach the stairs to the terrace next to Starbucks.

She was almost at his side, and when he turned to run up the stairs, she managed to grab his arm. "I said freeze!" she yelled at him, and with a jerk pulled him backwards. Due to his sling, he couldn't grip the handrail fast enough to prevent himself from falling, and Chloe dragged him all the way down onto the footpath. She tried to hold him there as he was trying to fight her off, yelling at him, "LAPD! Stop moving," while she dodged his blows. When he struck out at her, aiming right at her face, she had no other choice than to briefly let go of him to not get hit.

This gave him enough time to get up. He ran back up the stairs and Chloe followed him on the heels, once again grabbing his shirt and holding him back. This time, he held the handrail gripped with his other hand, turned around, pushed off her hand, and with all force that was in him, kicked her in the stomach.

Chloe yelped out in pain and struggled backwards, falling to the ground as she held her belly. For a moment, her mind stopped working. The pain that instantly shot through her body numbed every other feeling and she didn't even recognise the impact on the ground where she landed with her full back. Her head hit the pavement and she reflexively squeezed her eyes shut. The sharp ache that went from the back of her head through her brain made her eyes shoot open again, and she was met with a bright sky that dazzled her briefly.

"Detective!" Lucifer cried out and instantly rushed to her. He'd seen her fight with this guy but was too far away to interfere in any kind, and as he saw how he'd kicked her, his heart stopped beating, fearing the worst.

The blow had pressed all air out of her lungs, and she gasped for breath while she tried to fix her senses back on her surroundings. When she was able to speak again, she ordered, panting, "Go, get him!" With one hand, she supported herself on the concrete, pushing her body in a hunched but upright position, while she tried to appear less in pain. Lucifer simply knelt down next to her, refusing to leave her side. She tried to get back on her feet, but couldn't as more and more pain spread out inside of her. This man had directly hit her ribs, those that still hadn't fully healed, and it was hard for her to focus on anything but on how much it actually hurt.

Lucifer could barely look at her, how she squirmed with pain, and hastily withdrew his phone. With one arm across her back, spending her support, he pressed the device to his ear, mentioning briefly, "I'll call an ambulance!"

"No! Don't! I'm fine!" Chloe objected with a pain-filled voice.

He didn't believe her one bit and chose to ignore her protest. The line connected and the responder at the other end asked for his emergency. He pushed down his own worry and answered objectively, "I need an ambulance to the Northern Beverly Drive, between Starbucks and Crate and Barrel." He glanced down at Chloe while he listened to the speaker, and then replied, "An officer was injured during an encounter with a stalker." When the responder questioned about the type of injury, he took another glance at her, not knowing how to properly state it, and simply answered, "Just come fast!" Before they had another chance to ask him something else, he hung up and stowed the phone back in his pocket.

Chloe rolled her eyes about the way he acted. "Lucifer, I got kicked in the stomach. Not shot!" she told him dryly. She was fine! Would be! She just needed her strength back so she could push down the pain and get up from the ground... Then she would be ready to chase that stalker again.

Lucifer took a deep breath, and with his hand, he rubbed her back a couple of times. "I know," he replied, his voice filled with warmth and concern. "But right now, you look as if this guy had kicked out your guts. I'm not taking any risks!" he declared and caringly looked her in the eyes.

It took only a couple of minutes until they heard sirens of an ambulance van from afar, heading towards their direction. The blaring sound got steadily louder until the vehicle reached their side and abruptly fell silent as it halted next to them. While the driver safely stopped the car, the other EMT jumped out of his seat, grabbed a bag from the side of the ambulance, and rushed to Chloe, kneeling on the ground. "Hello, my name is Peter. I'm an emergency care provider. I'm here to help you," he introduced himself with a soft voice. "Can you tell me your name?" he asked, briefly glancing at his partner as she stopped beside him and knelt down.

"Detective Decker," Chloe replied with professionalism. She tried to send him a smile but it faded down before it had even reached her lips. The pain was still too strong, and so she concentrated back on her low breaths to maintain the little control she'd left over her body.

Peter gave her an acknowledging nod and responded calmly, "Nice to meet you, Detective. Can you tell me what happened?"

Before she even had the chance to answer, Lucifer cut in. "She got kicked in the stomach," he pointed out and stared at the paramedic, his hand remaining on Chloe's back, running some comforting circles across it.

Peter looked at Lucifer, nodding understandingly, and then turned his attention back to his patient. Her features still were twisted with pain, and he enquired, "Alright! On a scale from 1 to 10, how bad is the pain?"

Chloe clenched her teeth while she gathered up enough strength to talk, and then answered with as much composure as she could manage, "I'm fine!"

"Really?" the EMT wondered, irritated, doubting the truth of her statement at the mere sight of her. "Can I have a look?" he continued and wanted to grab her jacket to examine her belly as Lucifer's hand shot out and gripped his hand tightly, holding him back.

Lucifer only released him again when the man pulled his hand away. He ignored his confused look and informed him gravely, "No offence, but I won't let you touch my partner." Nodding towards the female paramedic, he added, "Not when she can do the job as well."

"Lucifer!" Chloe scolded him sharply. She already hadn't liked it that he'd made such a fuss about the kick and had called an ambulance. Mostly because she didn't want the attention, and the way he acted right now was beyond the line. She didn't want to be wrapped in cotton wool! Not from him. Not from anybody. "You called emergency," she sternly reminded him, "now let them do their job!"

His only reply was a firm shake of his head at her before he turned his attention to the two paramedics. "I don't mind having you stand beside her, but your colleague is the only one who'll touch the Detective." With pursed lips and a steady gaze, he made clear that he meant every word he'd said.

"It's alright, Mills," the female medic addressed her co-worker, giving in to avoid an escalation, and gave him an affirming nod as he looked at her. "We get her in the van and I'll have a proper look at her," she told Lucifer, flashing him a smile when he nodded his agreement.

Lucifer wanted to grasp around Chloe's legs to pick her up, but she quickly gave his hand a soft slap. "I can walk on my own!" she objected decisively. After all, she wasn't a damsel in distress! She always had a high pain tolerance and this ache had almost vanished, anyway. With the help of Lucifer on her one arm and the EMT on her other, she began to stand up. As her tummy muscles stretched, sending a sharp flash of pain through her body, she cried out and convulsed again.

"See!" Lucifer countered, swallowing down the ' _told you so!_ ' that was on the tip of his tongue. Without giving her time to counter anything, not that she was currently able of back-talk anyway, he picked her up and carried her over to the ambulance, placing her on the stretcher inside. Then, he stepped out again, making room so the EMTs could get to her.

"I'm Gabriela, by the way, Gabriela Dawson," the female paramedic introduced herself and pulled up the head-part of the stretcher so Chloe could lean against it without having to fully stretch her upper body. "Can I have a look at your stomach?" she asked and sent her a warm smile. When Chloe nodded and started to open her jacket, she friendly stepped in. "Let me help you," she commented softly and fully opened the jacket. Then, she carefully lifted the shirt and cringed her face as she saw the big bruise that had already formed. She also got sight of two big scars on Chloe's belly that haven't fully healed yet and asked, concerned, "What happened there?"

Chloe took in a deeper breath to be able to answer her in one go, ignoring the aching sensation as her chest expanded. "The one on the right was from fixating two broken ribs. The one on the left was from fixing my ruptured spleen," she answered shortly and precisely, pushing down the uncomfortable feelings at the reminder, and the relief which crawled upon her that Lucifer had insisted on a woman touching her.

Dawson nodded briefly. Reassuring herself, she went on, "Fixed means, you still have your spleen?"

"Most of it," Chloe affirmed. The EMT gently pressed down on her belly. She winced, squinting her eyes, and pressed her teeth together to not cry out in pain.

"The bruise is on the right, so it's probably just that," Dawson commented as she removed her hands from her patient's body. She sent another glance at her and then grabbed a little glass bottle and a syringe, drawing it up with the colourless liquid. "But because you had a surgery on your spleen, I wanna play it safe and let you get examined by a doctor," she informed her while she searched for a vein on the back of Chloe's hand, inserted the needle, and injected an analgesic drug. "They might need to do a CT scan of your spleen to see that nothing had happened to it again," she went on and put the items away.

Chloe sighed. She would have preferred to leave this vehicle again, already feeling better as the painkiller started working. But she also knew that if something had happened to her spleen, internal bleedings could kill her. Not liking it at all but seeing reason, she gave in and nodded her agreement.

"Alright, then I'll drive," Mills declared from the outside of the vehicle and headed to the front.

Lucifer, who had been patiently standing behind the paramedic, jumped into the van and instantly received a perplexed stare from Chloe.

"What are you doing?" she asked, baffled, and covered her exposed belly with her shirt again.

"Driving with you, of course!" he replied matter-of-factly.

"No!" Chloe countered sternly and shook her head. "You're not coming with me!" she made clear. When she saw his baffled look, she added, "Your wife is still in this café, waiting for you." He made no move at her hint, and, once again, Chloe was reconfirmed that he didn't care about his wife like he should. She felt the beginning of anger welling up at the thought, and hurt. The need to be away from him to calm down rose inside of her, but she also knew that any concern for his wife wouldn't bring the wanted result. "My car is parked here. Go, get it," she ordered, "and then, when you've brought Candy home, you can come and get me from the hospital, so we can continue our search."

Lucifer grumbled lowly. The last thing he wanted was to leave her alone. "What if anything happens to you on the way to the hospital? What if he shows up there?" he voiced the worrying thoughts from his mind.

Chloe tilted her head to the side, narrowing her eyes at him. "Well, if something happens to me on the way, then I have two very capable paramedics to help me," she dryly pointed out, "and for the rest: I have my gun!"

He knew he was about to stretch things, and not complying with her will would definitely make her snap. Their current bond of whatever-it-was-between-them seemed to be strung to the breaking point, anyway, and he wanted to avoid anything possible to let it tear. Reluctantly, he nodded his agreement. "To which hospital are you taking her?"

Dawson turned her attention to him and answered, "Cedars-Sinai-,"

"Could you take me to the USC Medical Center?" Chloe quickly cut her off. "I know, it's much farther away, but the doctors there know me already," she explained.

Dawson looked back at her, smiling warmly. "Sure!"

"The USC is it, then," Lucifer mumbled and nodded. He sent Chloe an assuring smile and a pat on her lower leg and then stepped out of the van. Taking a quick breath to collect his thoughts, he turned back to her and made clear, "I'll see you there in a bit. And don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"This excludes what?" Chloe replied before she was even aware of her banter.

Lucifer shrugged his shoulders, grinning smugly, and turned around, walking back to the coffee shop.

When he was out of reach, Dawson turned her full attention to Chloe and mentioned, "He's very protective, your partner."

Chloe nodded and sighed. Her sorrowful eyes reflected her emotions as she confirmed, "He is."

Dawson went to the door to close it and then stepped to the little window that served as a communication channel between the rear part of the van and the driver's cabin, opening it and informing her partner to which hospital to drive. She turned back to Chloe, securing her, and then took a seat opposite to her on the side bench and fastened her own seat belt. With a firm knock on the wall of the vehicle, she signalled her partner that they were ready to go, and the van set in motion.

Chloe not only felt the slight jolt the ambulance made when it rolled off the walkway, but also the acceleration when the vehicle was on the street and gathering speed to keep up with the traffic. Cold sweat formed on her hands, damping her fingers, and a light queasy feeling spread throughout her body. "Sorry for all the fuss," she apologised sheepishly, intending to engage the EMT in a conversation to distract her mind. When the blaring sound of the sirens suddenly started, her stomach turned upside down, her inner muscles convulsed and a light taste of bile crawled up her throat. She swallowed and quickly pressed her teeth together, taking low breaths through her nose while she tried anything in her power to push down the need to throw up.

Unbeknown to Chloe's inner struggles, the EMT shook her head and gave her an encouraging smile. "Believe me, just because it looks like nothing, doesn't mean it is nothing. I've had so many patients that were completely fine on the way to the hospital and then, ten minutes later," she stopped abruptly, reminding herself that she was talking to her patient and that it wouldn't help her to stay calm if she told her about the fatalities she already had had. "Well, better safe than sorry," she eventually stated, hoping she hadn't startled her patient too much with her loose tongue. She didn't get any reaction from Chloe and attentively observed her. Seeing the decrease in colour on her face, the rapid, shallow breathing, and the distant stare, she quickly unbuckled herself, jumping up. ' _Here we go_ ', it ran through her head and she grabbed Chloe's wrist, feeling for her pulse. "Ma'am, are you alright?" she asked, concerned.

"I'm fine," Chloe muttered, more to convince herself, and kept her eyes fixed on a point between her legs. Her limbs began to tremble, and her chest tightened, making it harder for her to breathe. "Could you tell your partner to stop the sirens?" she whispered with a weak and shaky voice, trying to keep the panic from overpowering her. Maybe the sound of the sirens reminded her body of the day after the attack? She didn't know, she only sensed that she was getting worse.

Dawson quickly went to the window, informing her colleague, and then grabbed some pads out of a shelf on the wall. "Just let me quickly check your heart rate," she informed Chloe, fearing she was about to go into shock, and grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling it down so she could adjust the pads.

Chloe wasn't fast enough to react and hold her back. As the paramedic beheld the scars from her mark, she could feel the horrified stare of her even before she saw it in her eyes, when she briefly glanced at her. She felt ashamed, and hastily grabbed her shirt, putting it back in place as she repeated, steadier this time, "I'm fine!"

Dawson swallowed hard. She needed a moment to compose herself, and then looked back and forth between Chloe's face and the spot where her scars were beneath her shirt. "I know that mark," it reflexively left her mouth before she could hold herself back.

Chloe stared at her, perplexed, and muttered, "What?" The surprise about her sudden words brought her panic attack quickly to an end. She felt her body calming down as the strength returned to her muscles.

Dawson saw that her statement had caused a visible discomfort in her patient, but she also saw her lips had back their rosy colour. Feeling her pulse once more and recognising that Chloe's heartbeat was getting slower and stronger, she stowed the pads away again and sat back in her seat. She took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts while putting a strand of hair behind her ear, and then began to tell, "It was about two months ago. My partner and I were first responders to an emergency call that had happened in a penthouse in Downtown L.A. I don't remember where exactly, but I know that we had to go through some sort of club to get to the elevator. Up in the penthouse was a crime victim, alive, but...," her voice broke off and she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat when the memories shot back into her mind. She cleared her throat and then went on, "I clearly remember those cuts, because on the way to the hospital she... I mean... you," she corrected herself, "had cardiac arrest and we needed to revive you. I didn't know where to put on the patches because your body was so sore. We managed to get your heart back into sinus rhythm." She paused briefly, taking a breath. "Still, when we arrived at the hospital, you were barely alive, and...," she trailed off and a moment of silence passed between the two while they looked at each other in recognition and appreciation. Dawson grasped Chloe's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, and then whispered, "I thought you hadn't made it."

"Well... I did," Chloe replied in a hushed tone, feeling awkward and not quite knowing how to best react to that unexpected turn of events. She flashed Dawson a light smile and then slowly pulled her hand away. "Thanks for saving me," she eventually said a little louder.

"That's my job," Dawson quickly countered, shrugging it off.

"Still," Chloe objected, slightly shaking her head. "I mean, I know all the doctors and nurses who had fixed me up and took care of me in the hospital. They constantly said it was a miracle that I was still alive. Now," she halted and inhaled again, continuing as she breathed out, "It feels good to finally meet the people who made it possible that I was able to get medical treatment in the first place."

Dawson shrugged her shoulders, pressing her lips to a thin smile, and reached for Chloe's hand once more, giving it another encouraging squeeze, before she let go again and replied, "It's good to see you so well." She briefly glanced down at her, reminding herself of the scars and bruise on her belly, and quickly added, "Well, regarding the circumstances."

Chloe nodded. "Yeah, it could have been much worse," she commented quietly and her thoughts went to the other victims.

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Lucifer hadn't even fully stepped into the café when he felt Candy flinging her arms around his neck again. "What took you so long?" he heard her mumbling into his ear while she tightened her grip on him. Having the door handle still in hand to not let the door bump into him, he quickly grasped her arm with his other hand and pulled her off. "Do you have all your stuff at hand?" he counter-questioned in a soft but serious tone. Receiving an affirming nod from her, he turned around and, with his hand still on her arm, stepped out of the shop and headed straight to Chloe's car, dragging her along.

"Where are we going?" Candy asked puzzled but again received no response from him. They reached the car, and when he finally let go of her, she immediately rubbed the spot, trying to ease up the light pain his grip had caused on her.

"I'm taking you back to LUX," he finally informed her, unlocked the car with the key he'd secretly copied, and opened the passenger door. Sensing that he was in a bad mood, Candy got into the car without another word. He waited until she was fully seated before he shut the door and turned around. His sight wandered briefly across the crowd of people and suddenly he froze when he saw someone in the distance that looked a lot like his mother, staring right back at him. The anger instantly flared up inside of him, and he narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. He wanted to rush over to her to give her a piece of his mind, but as he took a step onto the street a van suddenly drove by, blocking his sight for a moment. When it was gone again, his mother was as well. His eyes darkened, and for a split second, two flames flared up in the centres of his pupils. Pressing his teeth together, a low growl escaped his throat, before he took a deep breath and exhaled his rage. No! He would not chase after her right now! Chloe was on the way to the hospital and he needed to get to her as fast as possible. He averted his gaze, jogged over to the driver's side, and climbed behind the wheel, starting the engine and driving off.

After a moment, Candy saw his posture relaxing in his seat, and she decided it was safe again to speak. "What about this Detective?" she asked quietly, bringing him out of his thoughts. Actually, she couldn't care less about the whereabouts of this woman but knew that he would be more willing to talk about her than about any other topic. And she wanted him to talk to her. It made her feel as if he was interested in her again; like he used to be, back then, in Las Vegas.

Lucifer needed a moment for the reply. Not to sort his thoughts, but to lock away his feelings so he wouldn't get overwhelmed by them. "She's on the way to the hospital." He stopped when the concern for Chloe made his voice quaver slightly. Taking a deep breath to compose himself, he pressed the air through his pursed lips and then went on, "This stalker had kicked her. She needed an ambulance." He took another deep breath to get his emotions back under control. These darn things! Right now, he wished he was his old, carefree self again. But it wouldn't help Chloe in the slightest when he wallowed in self-pity, he decided and shrugged them off. He concentrated on the road ahead, overhearing Candy's softly whispered "Oh" that almost sounded as if she felt sympathy for her.

Even as he managed to drive back to LUX faster than he'd ever done before, for him it still felt as if an eternity had passed. He stopped the car in front of the building, turned to his wife, and ordered gently but firmly, "Go up to the penthouse and stay there, please."

"What? You're not coming with me?" Candy asked, perplexed, and an instant shiver went down her spine. "What if this follower comes back?"

"Then you'll defend yourself like you've done before," he flatly pointed out, not having the nerve right now for her not following his direct command. "Now, could you?" he urged her.

Candy didn't care about his prompting. She didn't want him to leave her side again. She deserved his presence. His comfort. His protection. She and only herself. No one else! Trying to engage him in a conversation to prolong their togetherness, she stated, "You know, today, I was looking for the other gemstones you need. I've found one." She smiled to herself when she saw him pricking his ears. Fishing it out of her purse, she held it towards him, visibly proud. "I wanted to surprise you when you get home tonight, but I think, right now is a better time."

Lucifer took a quick glance at the stone. He sighed, clenched his teeth, and then countered with the calmest voice he could currently manage, "It was really nice of you to try to help me, but I will do the search for them myself."

"Why?" Candy cried out, not understanding it at all that he wasn't elated at her discovery.

He squinted his eyes, taking another deep breath to calm himself, and then retorted, "Because what you're holding is a hawk's eye, not a pietersite!" He glanced over at her, seeing the disappointment in her eyes, but didn't care about her feelings right now. He needed to be at the hospital. "Now go! I'm in a bit of a rush," he made clear, and finally, she exited the car without a murmur. ' _In a great haste,_ ' he silently corrected himself. He needed to make sure that Chloe was OK. That she would be fine and nothing worse had happened to her. He couldn't bear the thought if he, once again, had failed to protect her. Hearing her slamming the car door shut, he turned into the lane and drove away.

Candy huffed and folded her arms as she watched the car quickly disappear in front of her. When he was gone, she turned to the door, getting inside the club. Yes, her mood was down, but not because she found the wrong stone. She liked its colour and would keep it anyway. It vexed her that he didn't appreciate more what she had done for him. But he would do! Soon!

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Lucifer walked up and down the reception of the emergency room. "Why is she still getting treated? Is it something serious? Can I see her?" he pelted the nurse with questions, who despite his insistence dared to not let him through.

The experienced woman simply smiled at him, pointed to the little note he held in his hand, and repeated her words from before, "Mr Morningstar, just take a seat. She will inform you as soon as she gets cleared." With a well-meant nod, she turned her attention back to her screen and continued with her work.

Lucifer grumbled under his breath and once again looked at the little note. 'Lucifer, I'm fine! RELAX! Chloe' stood there. ' _Why did she have to write 'relax' in capital letters?'_ it shot through his head and he grumbled some more. Admitting to himself that he wouldn't get any further if he kept on pacing in front of the reception, he decided to take a walk around the hospital to ease his tensed-up muscles. Just to be on the safe side, he turned to the nurse and asked, "Can you call me out through the speaker when she's released?"

The nurse rolled her eyes but suppressed the sigh that was on the tip of her tongue. "I will tell her that you're here as soon as she's free to go, and I'm pretty sure, she has your number," she replied overly friendly and flashed him an excessive smile that almost screamed at him, _'Now leave me alone!'_

"Well, then," Lucifer replied, finally accepting it, and turned around, strolling through the hospital to distract his mind.

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His feet carried him into the main courtyard. When he glanced around, he spotted a little gift shop at the corner. His lips instantly curled upwards and he made a beeline for it, keen on finding a little present for the Detective that would conjure a smile on her face. A light jingle resounded when he entered the shop, and he sent a friendly "Hello" towards the man who stood behind the counter.

The shop owner looked up, smiling at him. "Welcome! Can I help you with something?" he offered right away.

"Nah! I'm just having a look," Lucifer denied and disappeared in the back of the shop where the stuffed animals were placed. He came to a halt in front of a shelf with little self-made key rings that had little stuffed toy angels sewed to them; each one was of a different colour and all had little angel wings on their backs. "How interesting," he commented with a delighted tone and took a closer look.

The man leant over the counter, a smile tucking at the corners of his mouth as he watched Lucifer. With his voice raised to be easier understandable, he explained, "These key rings were made by our little patients up in the children's ward. Once a week, an occupational therapist comes to them and they make these little buddies. When someone buys them, the child gets the money."

Lucifer nodded, his attention still fixed on the little angels, or rather on the one that was slightly hidden on the lower shelf: It was of black colour and had two red horns on its head, even the wings were black. Grinning to himself, he grabbed it and went to the counter. "I'll take this one," he declared and placed it down.

"Thank you!" The shop owner smiled and nodded at him, removing the little identity number that was tagged to it. "That makes $5.99," he stated and took the twenty-dollar note that Lucifer handed him. He was about to give him the change when Lucifer declined with a quick, "Keep it!" The shop owner was surprised and his eyes brightened up. "Thank you, sir!" he replied, glad that he could make such a big surprise to the child that had made it. "Anything else you want?"

Lucifer grabbed the item and stowed it in his jacket pocket before he looked back up. "No! That was ev...," he trailed off as his eyes got sight of a framed picture of a young woman behind the man, and the little stone that lay in front of it. Tilting his head to have a better view, Lucifer inquired with the greatest interest, "Is that a pietersite stone?" When the shop owner replied with a simple nod, his eyes almost fell out of their holes and his face instantly lifted up. He chuckled involuntarily as the lines Uriel had written about the whereabouts of this stone popped up in his head. He looked around, remembering the first phrase, 'There is a store in a crowded place'. So far, he'd thought his brother had meant a shopping street, but when he looked around and saw all these patients, visitors and hospital staff walking around, this very much could have been meant as well. His thoughts wandered to the next line, 'Of people filled with hope and despair.' He nodded to himself, a hospital surely counted as such. When the next two lines shot in his head, 'The gemstone that is of invaluable worth, can only be traded when you give that in return,' he chuckled again and shook his head. ' _Brother, brother,_ ' he silently stated, ' _you little wit!_ '

Taking a deep breath, Lucifer turned his attention back to the shop owner. "I'd like to buy that gemstone as well!" he declared, his sight fixed on the item as he pointed at it. He'd never seen such a big and perfectly shaped one before in his life. This stone would definitely provide a great amount of the energy that was needed to open the portal.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but this stone isn't for sale," the man objected, his voice filled with a sudden sadness.

Lucifer stared at him as if he'd just praised the Lord. "What? Why not?" he asked, baffled.

"This stone is priceless," the man answered, staggered about this customer's attitude.

Lucifer made a *tsk* sound about the other man's reply. "Everything has a price," he mumbled and whipped out his cash. "How much do you want?" he asked with a cheeky smile and pulled some notes from the bundle as he quietly counted, "100, 200, 300?"

"Didn't you understand? I don't want your money," the owner countered, slightly appalled. When he heard Lucifer's muttered "500 dollars, then?" he nearly lost it. "This is my daughter's birthstone!" he retorted in a dark voice, clenching his fists to contain his anger.

Lucifer sighed. "Very well! Then could you please ask your daughter? I'm sure she's more open-minded to this little bargain."

The owner gripped the edge of the counter, taking a deep breath to keep the emotions down that had stirred up at this thoughtless comment. "My daughter is dead," he replied with a quavering voice at the reminder of her recent passing.

"Oh!" Lucifer exclaimed in a hushed tone. "My condolences, Sir. But may I ask you one question: Why do you still not want to sell this gemstone, then? I mean, it's not like your daughter would want it back anytime?" Lucifer was slightly startled as the man reared up in front of him, his eyes glaring darkly.

"Out!" the shop owner yelled at the top of his voice, and he went berserk. "Get out! And if I ever see you again, I'll smash you to pieces!"

Lucifer shuddered at the sudden hostility from the man and quickly backed out of the shop. He absolutely couldn't understand why this man had acted this way. True! He could have waited a moment or two between the condolence and the question, but he had something important to do with that stone. He needed it! Maybe he could get someone else to get it for him, or to make him lend it to him? he thought to himself, and with a last look in the shop's direction, he turned around and headed back to the waiting area of the emergency room.

/-/

It took Chloe a couple of hours to get thoroughly examined. They had insisted on taking a CT scan, so she had to wait until that was free. Despite the results showing that everything was fine with her spleen and she had just bruised ribs, they wanted to keep her overnight, just to be on the safe side. But Chloe could quickly make clear that that was out of option. Under some restrictions, she was finally allowed to leave. When she walked to the receptionist to sign her discharge paper, she stole a glance into the waiting area and a light sigh escaped her throat as she spotted Lucifer sleeping in one of the chairs. She quickly scribbled her signature on the dotted line, wished the receptionist a nice evening and then turned around and headed for him.

She stopped in front of him, hoping he would wake up instantly, but he didn't stir one muscle. A smile flickered across her face at the way he looked: His left elbow rested on the armrest of his chair, his clenched fist supporting his head that was slightly tilted to the side. His soft breaths let his chest lift and lower evenly. He looked so peaceful and relaxed, his features were almost juvenile. Far away from the worrisome expression with the deep frown that showed up on his face more and more, recently. An urge rushed through her heart and before she even knew what she was doing, she gently ran her fingers through his hair. It felt so soft, and its little curls that he always tried to straighten out wrapped themselves around her fingers.

He stirred, and she instantly jumped backwards, hiding her hand in her folded arms and innerly pleading he hadn't noticed her caress. When he moved his head, looking at her through half-open, tired eyes, she silently breathed a sigh of relief. Her nervousness hidden under a nonchalant posture, she informed him, "Time to go."

At the sound of her voice, Lucifer was instantly wide awake. "How are you? Is everything alright?" he blurted out and sprung up from his seat.

"I'm fine!" she calmly assured him. "Can we go?" she added, and with a tilt of her head, she pointed to the exit.

"Of course!" he purred but held her back as she was about to walk away. "Just one thing," he began and fished the little key ring out of his pocket, holding it out to her with a delighted "For you."

"What's that?" Chloe asked, puzzled, and she took the item to give it a closer look.

"Your guardian devil, dear," he countered cheekily. "You didn't stay long enough for flowers, so I thought this little thing here is more suitable."

Chloe's lips formed a silent 'oh' as she looked back and forth between the gift and him. "Thanks," she muttered simply out of the need to say something in return. Her mind was totally blank at such a completely unexpected gesture. "That was...," she trailed off, astonished, and rummaged in her brain for a fitting word. Finding one, she ended, "thoughtful of you."

"Oh, really?" he asked, his cheeks stretched into a bright smile. "Well, then, back to work," he announced loudly and gestured with his hand towards the double door.

"Shush!" Chloe silenced him and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the receptionist who'd pricked her ears at his statement. Seeing his baffled stare, she explained to him in a hushed tone, "They don't know I'm going back to work." She wanted to drag him further to the exit as Lucifer stopped abruptly, the deep frown back on his forehead.

"Why? You just said everything is fine," he retorted, sceptically gazing at her.

"Because they wanted to keep me overnight, but I insisted on leaving. I promised them to go home and take a rest," she whispered, and once again tried to pull him with her, but he remained stiff as a poker.

Lucifer scrutinised her for a moment, beholding her urgent look, and eventually, he replied, his voice equally low, "Very well." He started walking, making sure that Chloe could keep up with his pace but also that he was at least two steps ahead of her. When they were in the parking area, he headed straight to the driver's side of her car.

"What are you doing?" Chloe asked bewildered, and rushed to the door to keep him from getting in.

"Bringing you home, of course," he answered matter-of-factly.

"No!" she objected with a firm shake of her head, pushing him away from the door and blocking it with her whole body. "We're going back to the building complex," she declared decisively. When he didn't respond right away, she added, "We've already wasted enough time in the hospital. Come on, let's find that twin, now!" Lucifer only folded his arms in front of his chest, raising one eyebrow to make clear he was against it. "Fine!" she countered before he could say anything. "Then stay here if you don't want to come with me. I'm going back to that place," she made clear and opened her door, getting inside.

Lucifer realised that he couldn't get her to see reason by only blocking the way. "Alright!" he gave in and rushed to the passenger side, opening the door before she could drive away. "This way I can keep an eye on you, at least," he commented as he hopped inside and closed the door. Turning to her with a warning glare, he went on, "But when you break down or something like that, I'm gonna be very mad at you!"

Chloe rolled her eyes, slightly pursing her lips, and countered indifferently, "Whatever!"

/-/

The sun was already starting to disappear below the horizon when they arrived at the building complex again, and the normally grey buildings were now coloured in deep red, orange and yellow. Chloe stepped out of her car and headed straight to the open boot, fishing for the two torches and holding one towards Lucifer when he appeared next to her.

Slamming the boot lid close, she turned around and, quickly deciding that they would start with the highest one that was left on their list, they entered the ten-storey building. They managed to clear the first four floors within relatively short time since they could split up. While Chloe searched through the right wing, Lucifer inspected the left one. Initially, he hadn't liked their separate searches but sensed pretty quickly that the Detective wasn't in the mood for discussions right now, let alone for objections. Therefore, he wasn't really sad that his torch's battery was run down in the middle of the fifth floor, and they had to continue the search together.

By the time they stepped back out of that building, they were both exhausted, Chloe from the day, Lucifer from the tension that lay in the air around them. The sky was already dark, only glittering with the moon and some stars that were strong enough to outshine the city lights nearby.

Without a word, Chloe grabbed the run-down torch from Lucifer's hand and went straight to the car. Not bothering to open the boot, she unlocked the back door and tossed the device onto the back seat, slamming the door shut with as little noise as possible. She felt the testiness growing inside of her, and she gripped her turned-off torch tighter and exhaled some of the tension before she turned around to Lucifer and looked at him. The moon that shone from above outlined the features on his face, depicting calmness and understanding, and she relaxed as the deep familiarity between them provided a communication that didn't need any words to be understood: Chloe didn't want to quit, despite knowing that she should give her body some rest. Especially the painkillers wouldn't work for much longer, and she hadn't any pills at hand. Lucifer took a step towards her, knowing that she was bound and determined to finish the other three buildings as well, but he also recognised when something was futile.

"What if we drive back to your house and ask Maze to let the number get pinged again, so we can confirm that he's still here?" he recommended with a hushed voice. "I doubt that he'll get rid of his cell phone. You could take some rest while we wait for the results, and then we could do another search round."

Chloe looked around the area while she listened to his voice. Albeit his suggestion sounded plausible, and her feet and back were already siding with his plan, her head was dead against it. She didn't want to admit defeat and leave now, fearing that they were so close to finding this man.

Lucifer waited a moment for her to answer. As he saw her gaze drifting off, he whispered a soft "Detective" into her direction to get her attention. Briefly, it had worked and her eyes landed back on him, but all of a sudden, her head shot slightly to the side and her eyes were fixed on something behind him while her hand automatically went straight to her gun. He turned around to see what had startled her.

When Chloe had looked back at him, she saw a flicker of light out of the corner of her eye, coming from the warehouse ahead. Immediately, all her senses were on full alert and she stared towards the upper story of that building, hoping to see the fleeting light again.

"What is there?" Lucifer asked, his eyes scanning the building but not recognising anything out of the ordinary. After what seemed like an eternity, her low voice finally resounded next to his ear.

"I've seen something," she shortly informed him.

"What?" he probed further, now alert as well.

Chloe shook her head, her eyes still fixed on the spot. "Don't know," she started, slowly doubting herself. "I'm sure I've seen a light up there," she ended and took a couple of steps towards the warehouse.

The building wasn't big. Four stories at a max, and it also didn't seem like one of those that had terribly long corridors. Lucifer walked up to her, whispering in her ear, "What if we search this building, and then we go home?" Her reply came in a swift nod and without another notification, she went towards the entry.

The door opened with a squeaking noise and its lower end scratched across the concrete. It halted shortly after, leaving only a small space. Chloe pressed herself through and entered the ground level, instantly switching on her torch and shining into the darkness. Bright light landed on dust, old garbage and broken building materials as she moved it across the hallway. To both sides, there were two little rooms which seemed to have once served as offices and now contained nothing but old desks and rusty cabinets. She waited until Lucifer had managed to get inside as well, and together they walked further through the hallway into a huge hall. The openings where the windows used to be, were covered by large chipboard, leaving no light to enter.

Chloe moved the torch from side to side to scan the area. In the rear end of the hall, a staircase appeared and they headed directly for it. The first couple of stairs were still intact but when Chloe went around the corner, she saw that the rest of them was collapsed. She shone the light upwards, seeing that the stairs of at least two storeys were missing, too high to climb up, and she cursed under her breath. "There needs to be another way up," she whispered to Lucifer who stood right behind her.

Lucifer nodded. "But not here," he mentioned and turned around, searching in the dimly lit shine for something else. He found an old goods lift, partly hidden by a wall, and he signalled Chloe to follow him as he walked over to it. He grabbed the wooden lattice, pushed it up, and stepped into the lift. There were buttons on the side and he pressed one, but nothing happened. "We need to find the power supply," he commented as he stepped out again and searched the walls.

"Maybe something like that?" suggested Chloe and directed him to a metallic case.

Lucifer opened it and mumbled a victorious "Exactly!" as he found the power switch inside. He threw the lever and with a flickering sound the whole hall was enlightened by long tube lights.

Warm, yellow light shone from a lamp in the middle of the ceiling when they stepped back into the lift. Chloe went to the rear part of the cubicle, feeling uneasiness inside of her stir when Lucifer pulled down the wooden lattice that met right in the middle with another one coming out of the ground. He stepped to the buttons that now glowed in red and green, and pressed the upper one. Slowly and with a jerk, the lift began to move upwards, and Chloe pressed herself against the plain wall on the back, innerly hoping that the lift wouldn't crash with them inside. When they reached the top floor, the lift halted on its own, and Lucifer pushed the lattice up. Chloe was out of this cell as fast as she could, rushing past Lucifer and shining with her torch into both directions.

Again, there was nothing but dust, garbage and scraps. At least the windows weren't blocked and offered some additional light from the moon outside that shone palely through the dirty glass. To their right, the scrap was stacked right up to the ceiling, leaving no space to press herself through, and Chloe decided to head left first. They stepped through a wall that had partly been burst and found an open area that was decorated as if someone was living there: In the corner was a makeshift bed with an old mattress. Countless photos decorated the two walls around it, and a lamp stood next to it. On the other side, right below some black-painted windows, was a large table with several utensils on top.

"I think we've found him," Lucifer commented in a low voice. He walked to the wall with the pictures, switched on the lamp, and looked at the images: They showed women in their everyday life; how they entered and left their homes, went to shops or talked to other people. Below each photo was a little sheet of paper with the timestamp written on it from when it was taken. When he spotted Chloe on some of the pictures, an instant wave of anger welled up inside of him. Lucifer was barely able to suppress the fire from flaring up in his eyes, and he clenched his fists and pressed his teeth together to channel his rage. Not wanting to lose it right here and now, he swallowed the feeling down and took a breath to get back control of himself. He continued looking at the pictures; some showed Chloe leaving her house, others showed her entering the precinct or inspecting crime scenes, and some even depicted how and when she entered or left LUX. "We definitely have our guy," he muttered and let out a low growl.

Chloe preferred to stay away from the wall as soon as she saw his reaction to them. She already knew that Galant, and therefore also his twin, had observed their victims to find out the perfect time and place to commit their crimes. There was no need to get reminded once more that they had managed to follow her for that long without her noticing; that they were able to capture her in those moments she felt safest... She turned her attention to the table, investigating what was lying on it: There was an opened Band-Aid with used patches, cloths and bandages lying next to it, indicating that one of them must have been injured. She looked further through the stuff and saw a rusty mug. Approaching it, the scent of coffee hit her nostrils and she grasped around the mug, feeling it still being warm. "Damn it!" she cursed and turned around, heading for the hole in the wall while she called to Lucifer, "He was here not long ago!" Maybe he was still within the area, she thought, but they needed to be fast if they wanted to catch him. She rushed to the lift, hearing Lucifer follow on her heels, and when she stepped into the cubicle and turned around, he was already pulling down the wooden lattice.

He pressed the lower button and the goods lift started to slowly move down. All of a sudden, the lights went off, wrapping everything in complete darkness. The lift rushed further down and then abruptly stopped as the safety brakes jumped in, preventing them from crashing.

Chloe was startled and immediately pressed herself against the back wall, her hands clutching tightly around her torch as she switched it on and shone at Lucifer. "What happened?" she cried out.

Lucifer pushed both buttons several times, but the lift didn't move. "Don't know," he muttered, wondering. He looked through the lattice and saw by the light of her torch that they were stuck in between two storeys. If they could make it to the upper storey, they could find another way out, he thought and pushed up the lattice. Unfortunately, the upper part didn't fully disappear and therefore didn't provide enough space for them to crawl through. The lower part, however, had disappeared completely in the ground. He figured that if he could just move the lift a little lower they had enough room to squeeze through, and started to jump a couple of times, hoping that this would work.

The jerks of the lift petrified Chloe. She wanted to tell Lucifer to stop but there was no voice coming out of her mouth. It seemed as if all air had vanished from her lungs and her panic grew when she felt herself on the verge of passing out. Then, something snapped inside of her and suddenly she found herself yelling at him, "Stop it!" Gasping for breath, she pressed herself further against the wall, frantically gripping her torch; the only light that saved her from getting swallowed by darkness. When he ceased his moving, a moment of silence fell between them, stirring up her thoughts and fuelling her fears: They were trapped! Her body started shaking and her breathing quickened rapidly. Trying to stifle down her panic attack, she inhaled deeply through her nose, held it for a couple of seconds and then slowly pressed the air out through her pursed lips.

"You alright?" wondered Lucifer and turned around, instantly feeling worried as he got sight of her. He took a step forward but her hand that shot out at once gestured him to stay back.

"Don't!" Chloe managed to utter before she felt herself more and more losing the battle between her composure and her fears. Some memories flashed up in front of her inner eye and she gripped the torch tighter, its light slightly wavering by the trembling of her hand.

"Don't worry, Detective. I'll find a way out. Just calm down," Lucifer assured her in a soothing tone.

"Guess what I'm trying to do!" she snapped at him. Her anger briefly overpowered her fright, giving her enough strength to take another deep, calming breath. Again, he attempted to walk towards her, and she hissed quickly, "Just stay there! Don't come any closer!" She concentrated back on her breathing, and finally, it started to work. When she had calmed down enough, she straightened herself and grabbed into her jacket pocket to get her phone. But it wasn't there. "No!" she muttered, shocked, and reached into her other pockets, hoping it would be there. But again, there was nothing. "My phone," it left her mouth as she searched through her clothes once again.

Lucifer pricked his ears and looked at her with concern, one eyebrow raised, noticing that her search became slightly frantic. "Did you leave it in the car?" he suggested calmly.

"No!" she countered a little too harshly and immediately added softer, "I definitely had it in my pocket."

"What do you need it for, anyway?" he wanted to know.

Chloe stared at him, her expression depicting annoyance as she stated the obvious, "Calling for help!"

"Well," Lucifer replied and pulled out his own phone, switching it on. "I don't have any reception."

"What?" she exclaimed with a start and gazed at him in disbelief. "Can't you even call emergency?"

"No reception means I have no reception, Detective," he flatly pointed out, feeling miffed himself, but he pushed down the emotion. He needed to keep a cool head if he didn't want to frighten her further.

Slowly it dawned on her that they were not only trapped but that they also had no opportunity to get rescued. No one knew where they were, and no one expected them to be back at a certain time. And with this twin of Galant still out there... He'd either disappear for good or come back and find them, and in her current state, Chloe didn't know what would be worse. "This can't be happening," she mumbled quietly and shook her head, fighting off the thoughts that flooded her brain. Her back supportively pressed against the wall, she sank to the ground and clenched her knees. "We can't phone anyone. No one knows that we're here!" she repeated her thoughts, not realising that she spoke them out loud.

Lucifer sighed, and decided that for the moment it was best he'd take a seat himself. Sitting down on the ground opposite to her, he observed her carefully and then replied soothingly, "Detective, I can assure you, there will be someone looking for us."

Chloe's head shot up and she stared at him, perplexed, while her mind slowly processed his words. "Who?" she wondered cluelessly.

"Well, I'm sure, Maze will come when she senses I'm in danger," he joked. The smile on his lips, however, vanished when he realised she didn't react to his banter. He frowned and the worry for her increased again. "What about the douche?" he went on, trying to get her to talk to distract her a little. "Doesn't he get suspicious when you don't show up at the precinct tomorrow?"

"Yeah," she answered and nodded, exhaling a deep breath to ease up her tension. "He'll know that something is up as soon as I don't pick up Trixie," she explained, more to reassure herself than to let him know. She was supposed to show up at Dan's at eight in the morning. Then, he would know that something was wrong, and he would track down her car like he'd done in the Palmetto case... But still, that would be more than ten hours they had to wait, not to speak of the time it would take Dan to actually find them.

All of a sudden, the light of her torch started to flicker, frightening her again. "No! No! No!" she cried softly, and hectically shook the torch to try and make it work properly again. But to no avail. The light got weaker and shortly after, it went out. "Fuck!" she cursed under her breath, instantly feeling fear creeping up her spine again as darkness began to surround them.

Lucifer could hear her panting, how it quickened, and he knew she was shortly before a panic. He hurriedly grabbed his phone again, switching it on and selecting the torchlight function. "Here," he commented and shoved it towards her.

Chloe stared at the light in front of her, bewildered for a moment. Then, she quickly picked it up, encompassing it with both her hands, and sent him a quiet "Thank you!"

"You're welcome!" mumbled Lucifer and leant against the wall, heaving a low sigh.

The panic in her slowly ceased. She took several deep, calming breaths and looked at the phone to distract herself. She did a double-take at the two-digit number of missed calls on the display, all from one person. "Candy tried to reach you!" she pointed out to him.

"Ignore it," he shrugged it off, "She knows I won't answer when I'm busy with work."

Chloe pursed her lips to prevent herself from yelling at him. Taking a brief moment to compose herself, she mentioned as casually as she could currently manage, "What if this stalker had come back?"

"I told her to stay at LUX," he promptly answered in a tone that couldn't be further away from caring. "He won't be able to get up into the penthouse again, and in any other case, she knows how to defend herself." He heard her low grumble even before he saw her dark, narrowed eyes staring daggers at him. "She doesn't need me for her protection, Detective," he quickly justified himself, "she just wants attention and I can't deal with that right now."

"She is your wife!" she hissed angrily.

"So?" Lucifer countered, vexed himself. "That doesn't mean I have to be with her 24/7 or hold her hand at the slightest incident."

"But..." Chloe was at a loss. She didn't know how to react to his words any longer. "Don't you love her?" she asked, her voice filled with genuine interest and the hope that the answer was 'yes'. At least, this way it would be easier to understand why he chose that woman. Above all else, she wanted him to be happy, and she would accept it if this wasn't with her.

"Of course not!" he retorted, aghast at her question. How could she even assume something like that in the first place?

His answer really took her by surprise. She gaped at him, speechless, and had to force the hurt back down that instantly welled up. Several minutes of silence passed before she found herself able to reply. "Then," Chloe started and felt a lump forming in her throat, thickening her voice. Before it would set her tears free, she quickly pressed through her lips, "Why did you marry her?"

There it was again, the urge to tell her everything, starting with the greatest betrayal of all times. But he couldn't, and this weighed heavy on his heart. "You won't understand," he eventually answered with a breath, hoping this would be sufficient. But he was wrong.

"Then explain it to me!" she snapped frustratedly, and her anger grew. "Don't just allege I can't comprehend the things that are going on in your life without giving me at least a chance to prove you different!"

Lucifer sighed deeply. He let his head fall back against the wall and rubbed his eyes. This was easier said than done. Even if he didn't have the constant fear of putting her in more danger by choosing the wrong words, he wouldn't even know where to start. "It's complicated!" he muttered, already feeling exhausted at the sheer thought of it.

Chloe narrowed her eyes again. This wasn't an answer she would let him get away with. Not this time! "Well, try!" she challenged him. "We won't go anywhere soon, anyway. So talk!"

 _'If talking weren't so difficult,'_ he thought and took another deep breath. He ran his fingers through his hair while he innerly searched for a way to explain it to her. Chloe could be so annoyingly persistent with things she wanted to understand. And while this character trait was very beneficial when it came to her work, being at the receiving end of her probing was extremely agonising and tiring; especially when they were trapped in a confined space with no way of getting out. "Basically, I want what everyone else on this planet has," he eventually started and glanced over at her when he declared, "Free will! During my whole life, my parents used me for their own plans only to get back at each other. They kept me in the middle of their fights. And when I didn't want to play a part in their game any longer, they abandoned me!" He waited a moment, making sure that she was following his words, and then continued, "In Las Vegas, I found a way to finally pay them back. To give them both what they deserve, and to tell them to keep their hands out of my life. But I can't do it alone. I need Candy for that. As a cover-up, and to avoid unnecessary questions, I married her before we came back to L.A.," he ended and hoped with that much truth, this whole topic was off the table.

"So you use her to fulfil your own plans," she countered and gritted her teeth to stifle the angry shout that had rolled up her throat. "Isn't that exactly what you accuse your parents of?" she reproached him and added scornfully, "This basically makes you like them!"

"I am _not_ like my parents!" Lucifer shouted at the accusation, rearing up his upper body in anger, his eyes staring dangerously dark at her. He clenched his teeth and leant back again, huffing out the rest of his rage to get a grip back on himself. When his temper was cooled down, he justified himself, "Candy knows about all this. She's willing to help me!"

Chloe was completely unimpressed by his short outburst, her own anger about his words was simply too big. "Really?" she retorted without missing a beat. "You explained your plans to her? You told her she's just a tool? You gave _her_ the decision to join you or not?" she stated the questions from her mind. Each time, a little voice inside her head answered with a "no", but she pushed it away. She didn't want to accept he could be that heartless to someone.

Suddenly, he became very silent and stared at her, perplexed and a little lost. "Well," he started but trailed off for lack of a suitable answer. Truth was, he summoned Candy up into this world. She had no other choice than to follow his word. But this was different. She was a demon; a very obedient one at that. She would have done it anyway if he'd asked her, just to please him. And she got plenty of treats for it in return...

"Lucifer, I saw how she behaves towards you," Chloe went on with a surprisingly soft voice, unaware of his inner monologue. "She tries to get your attention so badly. She wants to be close to you. I'm pretty sure she has feelings for you. You can't just ignore them." She stopped abruptly when her jaw began to tremble. This situation hit far too close to home for her: Having feelings for someone who didn't return them... Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she continued, silently relieved that her voice remained steady, "You will hurt her if you don't make it clear what exactly you feel for her... What you don't feel," she corrected herself.

"She knows this already," he replied quietly. He felt bad for having yelled at Chloe, for not having had himself under control, and now, he felt even worse when he heard the sadness in her tone.

"How?" she inquired, close to despair. She wanted to understand him. She truly did! But all she could think about was this huge difference in how he treated her and how he treated Candy. Almost as if he were two different persons. And she was afraid... afraid that someday, this other person would come out of him when he was with her. She didn't know if her heart could survive this...

Her continuous nagging vexed him. Why was she so concerned about Candy? It almost seemed as if Chloe wanted him to have feelings for her. But he would never! For no one else... "Well, I'm here with you, aren't I?" he countered, all emotion vanished from his voice.

Chloe fell silent, startled by his sudden harshness. She turned the phone-light away from herself to hide the emotions that leaked out from inside of her. She was close to tears. Didn't he care at all? Was he so eager to get his revenge that he would stop at nothing? His words and his actions were so hurtful. At first, she had been jealous of Candy, but now, she felt sympathy for her: She had the man of her dreams right in front of her, could be closer to him than anybody else, but still, she couldn't have him. This was so cruel. Only torture was worse... Pain spread out inside of Chloe, and it took her a moment to realise that this ache didn't come from her heart. It erupted from her tummy, hitting her with a sudden force, and she convulsed, squinting her eyes and clenching her teeth to prevent herself from crying out loud. Trying to ease her tummy muscles, she stretched her legs a little away from her front. But at the movement, the pain worsened and a low groan escaped her. She started to pant to try to breathe it away.

"What's wrong, Detective?" asked Lucifer at the sudden noises coming from her. He straightened himself and observed her with concern.

"Painkiller... stopped... working," Chloe pressed through gritted teeth. Lucifer jumped up and rushed to her, but when he was within reach, she pushed against his chest, making him fall backwards and land on his behind. "I said... stay away from me!" she yelled wrathfully. She didn't know if the pain had subsided or if she was just getting used to it, but more and more she felt her strength coming back and she took deeper breaths to fill her lungs.

Lucifer huffed and stood up, taking back his place on the opposite wall and letting out a low grumble. "I'm just trying to help you," he countered calmly, the chagrin he felt clearly sounded through.

"You're making it worse!" Chloe snapped and the tears fled her eyes, falling down her cheeks. She snuffled and tried to keep the rest of them inside, but the pain had made her emotions so raw that she couldn't hold them back any longer. Soft sobs escaped her and she quickly pressed her hand over her mouth to stifle them. Forcing her heartache back down, she swallowed and pulled herself together, wiping the wet trails on her face away with the back of her hands. "Why did you have to come back?" she mumbled distressed and slightly shook her head.

Lucifer sighed with sorrow. He'd never felt that helpless in his life before. It was as if no matter how hard he tried, he only made everything worse. "I've just told you that," he replied with a hushed voice.

"No, Lucifer!" Chloe shouted in frustration. "Why did you have to come back to _me_? L.A. has more than two million people. Why for heaven's sake did you have to show up on my doorsteps?" She snuffled again when more tears broke through the barriers of her eyes almost without resistance, rolling down her face. "Just when I started to get my life back together, you have to show up and mess everything up again," she sobbed and buried her face in her hands. With a muffled sound, she added, "It would have been much easier for me not to know that you were back. Easier than..." she trailed off and completed in her mind, ' _seeing you, being close to you, and not being able to have you._ '

"Because..." The words died down in his throat. His mouth was too dry to speak, his eyes instead too watery to focus. He wished he could tell her the whole truth. Damn notebook! Why did he have to find it? It only made things worse. For him. For her. For anybody. Still, he couldn't just throw everything overboard now. He had to keep her safe, even if this meant to break her heart... and his own. "I just wanted to see you, I guess," he eventually answered.

"You guess?" she repeated his words with a sudden venomousness and right after that, low, scornful chuckles filled the room. She wasn't just angry at him, she was raging mad at this flimsy excuse. "It's always you, isn't it?" she spat, and her tone became louder and more vicious with each further word, "You want something, so you simply take it and everyone else has to bear the consequences! Do you even, for once in your life, think about how your actions affect the people around you?" she shouted the last part at him.

"I do think about them!" Lucifer shouted back on impulse, feeling unjustly treated. He swallowed and clenched his fists, trying to contain himself, but the anger grew so rapidly inside of him that suddenly his tongue became loose and he blurted out, "I think about you, Chloe! All the time! That's why I left! You have no idea how it is to grow up under someone whose word is law. Who'd planned out your whole life and doesn't allow you to make one single decision on your own. Who'd cast me down to hell because I dared to speak up against him." He panted with rage, but then his tone became suddenly softer, "Just when I finally found a home, a place to live, people to be worth living for..." In the nick of time, he held himself back before the ' _you_ ' that was on his mind could slip out of his mouth, and he went on with misery in his voice, "…I find out that this had been his plan all along." He lightly shook his head, forcing the memories back out of his mind from the day his mother had told him the truth. His anger took over again, and he hissed, his sight raised towards the ceiling, "To mock me! To torture me! I was nothing but a pawn in his game."

He took a low breath and allowed the silence to step between them for a moment while he sorted his thoughts. Unintentionally, his mind went back to the day before he'd left L.A., and desperation mixed itself to his feelings, adding to the fear of having nearly lost her. "Seeing you almost die in front of me," he muttered and halted when tears welled up in his eyes. He quickly swallowed them down, pushing back the emotions that wanted to overwhelm him and locking them away deep inside of him. With a calm but distant sounding voice, he stated, "I went to hell to save your life. I've left this city, also to keep you safe. And then I come back and... and..." The words got stuck in his throat. He closed his eyes and pressed through his teeth, "and find out what had happened to you..." He couldn't continue. The mere thought of what he'd learned had opened his personal box of Pandora again and the feelings crawled back up his spine, having a race between fear and guilt and anger. "This is hell, Chloe!" he went on and his jaw tightened. "A living nightmare! And I lie awake at night, blaming myself for having left you; for not having been there to protect you." He stopped again and turned his head, staring at her with dark eyes as he let out, "Don't you think I wish I could make undone what this monster did to you? Don't you think I wish I could turn back time and change it? Prevent you from getting hurt? If I had a time machine, I would do so instantly! But I can't! And not being able to do that, tears me apart." Sighing deeply, he turned his head back staring into space as he added, sorrowfully, "So please, if hating me is the only thing for you to make this whole ordeal halfway bearable, then, by all means, hate me as much as you can!"

Never in her life had she guessed that it needed a stuck lift for him to finally open up to her. And it overwhelmed her. Not just his words, especially the emotions they carried, the meaning they implied, went right through her chest and settled down in her heart. It took her a moment, but then Chloe replied in a soft, hushed tone, "I don't hate you." The truth in her words was almost graspable. "Believe me, I've tried," she admitted and an involuntary chuckle left her lips. She halted, inhaled deeply, and breathed out the thought that had flared up in her mind and had painted sadness in her eyes. The corners of her lips were still curled up by the ghost of the chuckle. She swallowed it down, and allowed her deepest felt emotions to shine through as she turned her head to him and, with their eyes locked, said, "How could I hate you when you..." She trailed off and slightly shook her head. As if by magic, her hand reached into her trousers pocket and when she pulled it out, she saw that her fingers had encompassed the devil key ring. A gentle smile adorned her face and she tenderly caressed the little toy with her thumb, feeling its velvety texture. "I could never hate you," she whispered and put the key ring back.

"Then why do you push me away as soon as I get close to you?" wondered Lucifer puzzled. "Why don't you want me near you?"

Chloe sighed again. "I do want to," she calmly assured him," but I can't."

Both his eyebrows shot up and almost disappeared in his hairline at her riddled answer. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's," she halted, feeling the distress coming back at the reminder, and fixed her sight on an invisible spot on the ground. Not wanting to further think about it, she ended with a simple, "Complicated."

Lucifer rolled his eyes and sighed. "Really?" he countered, not quite knowing whether to laugh out loud or groan in frustration. "Weren't you just the one who gave me a hard time because I said exactly that?" he gently rebuked her.

Another unwanted chuckle left her mouth, and she quickly agreed with him. "Yeah, you're right." She took a deep breath, plucking up all her courage and then answered, breathing out, "You're a trigger."

"A trigger?" he repeated, perplexed, not knowing at all what she meant by that.

"It's... well... How shall I start?" she mumbled to herself, trying to find a way to explain it to him without losing her composure again. "When he was above me," she slowly began. "When he..." she stopped, unable to speak out the rest of her thought. Trying a different direction, she started anew and this time her voice didn't fail her, "He pressed your pillow over my face, and every time I took a breath, I inhaled your scent. Everything smelled like you while he..." Her voice began to shake and little teardrops filled the corners of her eyes when she whispered, "… raped me." She took a long breath, exhaling her tension as she wiped her cheeks dry, feeling that an invisible stone had been lifted off of her chest now that she finally spoke it out loud.

Lucifer was aghast and barely able to speak. "In your mind... do you think... I," he stammered, unable to end his sentence.

"No!" Chloe countered instantly, sternly shaking her head. "I know you didn't do it!" she told him in utter confidence. "But when I breathe in your smell," she softly went on, "I get reminded again. The memories come rushing back, and they are too much to handle."

Lucifer took a deep breath. He shortly nodded his understanding and then turned his head, blankly staring at the gap between the edge of their lift and the concrete ceiling of the floor below them, and he breathed out the air from his lungs. If only he had stayed, it went through his head, and the sense of guilt grew inside of him, screaming its reproaches at him while everything around him went dead silent.

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Lucifer had his head rested against one of the laths and was deep in his dreams when suddenly a soft cry startled him out of his sleep. "Chloe!" it quietly left his lips and he bolted upright, looking around. It was pitch black, and even with squinting his eyes he couldn't recognise any shape around him. His other eyes would be much more fitting right now, they were used to such darkness, but he didn't dare to let them flare up. He couldn't risk Chloe seeing them and therewith fulfilling one of the prophecies. So, he concentrated on his hearing, sharpening his sense as much as possible. There it was again: The rustling on the ground of someone tossing and turning, and more silent whimpers. He followed the noises and with a jump, he was at her side and above her.

"Chloe!" he called her and felt for her arms. When he could grasp them, he gently moved his hands upwards until he found her head. Her skin was soaked in sweat, and he held fast to stop her from moving it from side to side. "Chloe!" he called her again, louder this time, and tenderly caressed her cheeks with his thumbs.

All of a sudden, her movements stopped and she took a deep, sharp gasp. Then, her hands shot out at him, and she screamed in desperation, "Get off me! Get off me!"

Lucifer tried to grip her hands, to keep her from hitting against him, but he couldn't see her blows, he only felt her frantic tries to fight off the ghost of her attacker. "It's me, Lucifer! Calm down!" he assured her, but it didn't help, she kept on screaming and hitting. It appeared as if her mind was trapped in a recurring nightmare while her body was wide awake. He knew she didn't want to be touched, but he couldn't find a different way of keeping her from hurting herself and somehow getting her out of her terrifying thoughts. In one go, he grabbed her, one of his hands was on the back of her neck, supporting her head, while his other hand went around her waist, and he pulled her up, halfway turning her to get himself away from her wildly-around-thrashing arms.

"Let go of me!" he heard her crying, but he couldn't do her that favour, not until she had calmed down.

Sitting on the ground, he leant his back against the wall of the lift and with his one arm still around her middle, pressing her firmly into his front, he moved with his free hand along her arm until he could grip her wrist. He pulled her arm close to her body, crossing it over her chest that heaved heavily with each gasp she took.

"Don't touch me!" Chloe screamed her lungs out when she felt his grip on her tighten, not realising at all in her panic who it actually was.

"Shush," Lucifer tried to soothe her as he let go of her middle and repeated the process with his now free hand. He held her tight in a straitjacket-like grip, feeling her muscles tense completely and her body rearing up, frantically trying everything to get out of his grip. He pulled her closer, ceasing her movements as much as possible without hurting her. "You're safe, Chloe. No one will harm you," he assuringly whispered into her ear and gently pressed his cheek against her head. He didn't know what else he could do to help her out of this. When he suddenly heard her pleadingly breathed "Don't kill me," his heart almost broke. A huge lump formed in his throat, and he had to swallow several times to get rid of it. "I won't," he reassured her in a hushed voice. "You're safe with me, Chloe," he promised and once again hugged her closer. "You're safe!"

Bit by bit, reality filtered down to her and as she finally recognised Lucifer, the room fell silent. Only her rapid gasps could be heard, which became slower and deeper the more she calmed down. When her panic attack had subsided, leaving her with nothing but pure exhaustion, she fell into low sobs. "I want this to stop!" she cried quietly.

"I know," Lucifer whispered back, feeling his own helplessness building up. If he could just take away her pain somehow. He would give anything to make her feel better. Her body began to shake at the ceasing adrenaline, and he gently rocked her from side to side, making soft shushing sounds until her cries eased off.

Chloe tilted her head and pressed it against his neck, the tears ran down her cheeks as she closed her eyes shut. Her mind was still clouded, she couldn't remember where she was, only felt Lucifer's arms tightly wrapped around her like a blanket, the warmth of his body at her back, his stubbles lightly scratching the side of her head. When she felt strong enough to speak again, she took a deep breath and then asked in a hushed, tear-filled tone, "Where are we?"

Lucifer stopped rocking her, the hint of a relieved smile on his lips, and he hugged her once more. "We're in a goods lift that's stuck," he reminded her. "Do you remember?" He felt her head moving against his chest, nodding her answer.

"Why is it so dark? Did you turn off your phone?" she worried, the fear slowly coming back, and she added, imploring, "Switch it back on!"

"I can't," he denied sadly. "The battery has run down on my phone and I have nothing else."

"Please, Lucifer," she begged him, "It's too dark. I can't be in the dark." Quiet whimpers filled the cubicle. Chloe tried to hold them back but the effects of her flashback were still too fresh to get her feelings under control and to put her mask back on. She turned her head some more, pressing her face into the crook of his neck to stifle her sobs, inhaling deeply to calm herself. But it didn't help. The shadows brought back her nightmare.

Lucifer sighed heavily. He tilted his head, snuggling into her. "There's nothing I can do about that," he apologised, and gently caressed her wrists. Suddenly, he felt her jerk and her hands began to tremble.

"There's someone!" muttered Chloe, panic gripping her. "He's here!"

"Here's no one," Lucifer assured her and let go of one of her wrists to encompass her shoulders, gently stroking her upper arm.

She tried to push her emotions down, to stay calm, but the fear quickly overpowered her. "Lucifer, he's here!" Chloe insisted, her voice getting louder and more frantic. She pressed herself further into him, trying to get away from the threat her mind created anew.

"Detective, there is no one here but us," he reassured again, his tone filled with a hint of distress. It was as if she couldn't even hear him any longer.

"He's here! He's coming for me!" Chloe cried and shifted further into Lucifer. She bent her legs, making herself as small as possible, but the further she pressed herself into him, the more vivid her nightmare became.

Lucifer couldn't bear seeing her like this. His Detective, who once was so in control of herself that nothing seemed to get her out of order, frightened to death, at the edge of a new panic attack, all because of one despicable human scum. He knew he shouldn't do it, that he would fulfil another one of the prophecies, but he had no other choice than to take the risk. He couldn't let her suffer any longer. His eyes flared up with all hellfire that burned within him. "See, Detective, there is no one here," he assured her and looked into the direction she was afraid of to affirm it.

Chloe was suddenly wrapped in a soft, red shimmer. She couldn't comprehend where this strange light had come from, and her mind was too exhausted to want to get to the bottom of that. She calmed down a bit as she saw nothing but a dark ground in front of her. Still, the shine didn't reach everything of the lift and she demanded anxiously, "Shine brighter! Into the corners!"

"Believe me, Detective, that's all I've got," Lucifer countered. Ignoring him, Chloe's head went in the other direction, and he heard her command to "shine that way!" He complied, and willingly looked into all the directions she told him to until she got confirmed that they were indeed alone. Feeling her slowly relax against him, he switched back to his brown eyes but instantly heard her cry to "Switch the light back on!" and did as told. His eyes flared bright red again while he tightened the grip around her, hoping she wouldn't tilt her head and see that this "light" was coming from his eyes. He had his hold firmly around her shoulders, hugging her close to him, while his other hand ran soothingly up and down her arm.

Both her hands reached up and grasped around his wrist, holding tight with fingers that were soaked in sweat. She took quick, shallow breaths that matched the rushing heart inside her chest, and her body began to tremble again. "I can't do this anymore," she cried and squeezed her eyes shut, pleading that this attack was over soon.

"You can, Detective," Lucifer's soft voice reached her ear. "Because you're strong," he declared and planted a tender kiss on her head before he gingerly leant his cheek against the spot and slowly started to rock back and forth again. "Just imagine all those weeks you've already managed. It will get better. I'm sure of it." He didn't receive a reaction from her, and prompted her, "Tell me, how many weeks." He hoped by keeping her talking and distracting her, he could help her to get over it.

With a shaky voice, she muttered, "Eight."

An instant, sharp jolt went through his spine. "What?" he uttered flabbergasted, not daring to believe his ears and silently pleading that she was wrong. "You mean roughly eight weeks, right?" he wanted to make sure, a sudden fright gripping his chest. He felt her head moving from side to side before he heard her answer.

"No," Chloe objected. "It was exactly eight weeks ago. It happened on a Sunday night."

The blood froze in his veins and his heart throbbed loudly in his ears. He tightened his grip on her shoulder, pulling her further into him, and almost choked on the air inside his lungs. He wanted to confirm the date once more, but his mouth didn't open, not even slightly. He couldn't move as the stiffness took hold of him.

"I'm so tired," Chloe whispered, completely exhausted. Her breathing had steadied again, the trembling slowly lessened. One of her hands grasped fully around his wrist, while her other hand moved up to his. She felt relief washing over her when his fingers instantly clasped around hers, and she snuggled into him, closing her eyes as she heard him mumble, "Then sleep." She was already halfway in a dream when his voice reached her ear again, warming the soft hairs around it with his breath, "I'll keep watch. I won't let anything happen to you." She smiled meekly and snuggled back into him, not recognising at all that the arms that held her were slightly shaking, nor that the jaw pressed against her head trembled.

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Once again, Dan stared at the clock; its hands showed that it was already five minutes before eight, and his impatience slowly turned into worry. Lately, it had occurred that Chloe didn't pick up her phone once in a while, but she would never be late. For the third time, he speed-dialled her number, but after several fruitless rings, this call went to voicemail as well. He pressed the end button before it would record a message, and walked into Trixie's room. "Come on, monkey, time to go," he informed her and with another concerned glance at the device in his hand, he stowed it away, muttering absent-mindedly, "I doubt your mother will show up on time."

"She's probably still with Lucifer," Trixie mentioned casually as she passed him, her backpack in hands.

Dan's head shot to the side and he stared at his daughter in disbelief. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, perplexed.

Trixie shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know. But that's why mum had to leave early yesterday and told Maze to drive me. Lucifer had called. It sounded really urgent, and she went straight to him."

' _So much about she didn't feel well,_ ' Dan thought and grumbled silently, his worry instantly washed away as he depicted in his mind several reasons for his ex's delay, all with the same outcome. "Baby, do you also know what Lucifer wanted?" he asked her, making it sound as nonchalantly as his current mood allowed.

Trixie finished putting on her shoes before she turned to her father, shaking her head. "I've asked Maze if she would have some fun, but Maze had answered," she halted and deepened her voice, mimicking the demon, "Ain't that fun I'd wish Decker had." She grinned when she was done, then shrugged her shoulders again and turned her head back, grabbing her backpack and walking up to the door.

Dan dialled Lucifer's number, hoping that at least he would answer the phone, but all he heard was a 'temporarily unavailable' before the call went to voicemail, too. His anger rose, and he decided that right after he had dropped Trixie off at school he would pay Maze a visit. Dialling her number to make sure she'd be at home, he pressed the phone to his ear while he opened the front door and let Trixie out, closing it behind him.

/-/

Lucifer didn't sleep a wink during the rest of the night. He held Chloe in his arms and watched over her, rubbing her back whenever he felt her sleep become troubling. The words she'd whispered were still screaming around in his mind, terrifying his heart. _Exactly eight weeks_. _Sunday_. He didn't need to look it up to know that this night had been the night when he'd initiated his magic spell, the night he'd started to plot his revenge against both his parents. This couldn't be! It was explicitly written in the book that _he_ would be the one to pay a price for using it. No one else! Especially not her! It must be a coincidence! But what if...?

His thoughts were abruptly halted when he heard some rustling below them and shortly after, the lights sprang back to life. "Detective!" he softly called her and rubbed her back a little harder to wake her up.

Slowly, Chloe opened her eyes. "What?" she mumbled sleepily. When she registered that it was bright again, her senses awoke with a start. "Who did this?" she asked, pushing down the queasy feeling and shifting herself so she could lean her back against the wall.

"Don't know," Lucifer answered while he got up and stepped to the buttons, pressing the lower one. With a slight jolt, the lift moved down.

Chloe quickly grabbed the phone that still lay next to her, putting it in her jacket pocket, and then the torch, holding it firmly in her left hand while her right went straight to her gun, making sure it was still in its place. Then she supported herself against the wall to get up as well. She tensed up, innerly making herself ready for a fight with whoever had switched the power back on. When the lift was finally on ground level again, the man she got sight of was a pleasant surprise. "Dan!" she called his name and relaxed again. An instant smile raised her lips and she rushed out of the lift to give him a quick hug.

"Finally, we've found you," he replied with relief, his features still painted in worry. He nodded towards Lucifer when he stepped out of the lift as well. "You can be lucky you've lost your phone in front of this warehouse," he commented, his attention back at Chloe, and held the device towards her. She quickly grabbed it, her eyes wide with surprise, and she stowed it into her other jacket pocket. "Otherwise we would have had to search the whole area," Dan went on and tilted his head to the side, gesturing them to exit the building.

They came to a halt outside the building and while Chloe turned to Dan since he wanted to further talk to them, Lucifer walked some steps ahead before he stopped. "If you don't mind, I'm going home," he stated heavily. "The night was rough, and I need to change my clothes," he added as justification and made a move to leave.

Chloe was slightly startled at his sudden voice behind her. She was so exhausted and knackered that she hadn't even realised that up to that point Lucifer had remained completely silent. Her head wheeled around to him. "Yeah, sure," she replied quietly and quickly added louder, "Take my car!" She flashed him a weak, relieved smile as he turned back to her and nodded. When he turned again and continued his path, the smile instantly died down, making room for a worried frown on her face. Lucifer didn't act at all like he normally would. Hopefully, it was just the weariness of the night and nothing else, she thought and waited until he was out of sight before she focussed back on Dan.

"What were you thinking, Chloe?" Dan scolded her straight out when he saw her head turning. Not leaving her any time to answer, he harshly went on, "Have you any idea how lucky you are that we've found you? Why didn't you tell anyone? You two could have been trapped inside there for days!"

Chloe glanced at him apologetically and folded her arms, innerly making herself ready for what was to come. She knew Dan wouldn't like her answer at all, and also could already hear his rant in her head when he'd find out who they were looking for. But right now, it was more important to catch this man, and she was too tired anyway to think of something else other than the truth. "On Saturday, we went to Galant," she told him head-on. "He revealed to us that he has a twin. That's why this woman was dead sure it was him who'd attacked her. Because the other one is still out there. We also found out that Galant had contacted him through phone, and I asked Maze to ping his number. It led us to this area."

"What the hell?" yelled Dan, hopping mad at her reckless behaviour. "You went behind my back? Without even telling anyone?"

"Dan," she calmly replied and pointed out the currently crucial information, "The twin's living space is in this warehouse. He'd been here yesterday evening. Before we were trapped."

"And instead of calling me right away so we can properly catch this man, you went here on your own," he rebuked her, getting even angrier. "You let him know that we're on his tail and, to make things even worse, you let him escape!"

"Dan," Chloe started, wanting to explain herself, but he quickly cut her off.

"No, Chloe! You went here without backup despite knowing that we'd forbidden you to work on this case!" he reprimanded her sternly, only to soften his voice a little as he tossed in, "I mean, somehow, I can understand why you went to that prison. But really, Chloe, you should have told me what was going on right after that instead of acting out on your own cravings for revenge!" He huffed and shook his head, his hands on his hips, as a low reproach left his lips, "If he manages to get away, now that he knows about us, or worse, gets another victim, then you're to blame for that. Do you understand?"

Chloe nodded remorsefully, already feeling her sense of guilt taking hold of her heart. Dan was right. She had wanted to find this man on her own to get her payback, without thinking about any consequences. Even without thinking about what she would do with him when she had him. "I'm sorry," she apologised with a low voice.

"It's too late for being sorry!" he countered darkly. "Get in my car, I'll drive you home," he ordered, his tone back to normal, pointing into the direction where he'd parked it, and then turned around, heading to the police officers to inform them to secure the area and call for more backup.

/-/

The elevator doors opened silently, and Lucifer walked into his apartment, his jacket loosely in his right hand. The fatigue in his bones made every step feel as if he was carrying a rock through sand. He was exhausted. But not from the sleepless night, or the fright he got at seeing the horror of one of those flashbacks of hers, the terror in her eyes, the panic in her voice. No, what drained all the energy from his body were those words that she had mumbled to him, and more and more the thought rose in him that this couldn't be a coincidence. Chloe had been attacked eight weeks ago. At the exact same night when he'd started his plan. He knew that messing with the divine powers was like playing with fire in a house made of paper, but under no circumstances had he imagined that...

Lucifer heftily shook his head, forcing that idea out of his mind. No! This couldn't be! It mustn't! The warning that was standing in the book, written in black letters on yellowed pages... he saw it in front of his inner eyes as if he would hold it in his hands: The _price_ has to pay whoever uses the book! But Chloe wasn't a _price_! And never ever would be! For no one! She was his everything!

Still, he couldn't get rid of the little voice inside his head that constantly tried to convince him that he had not only caused her this torture because he wasn't there to protect her but that he'd actively burdened this ordeal on her... just so he could have his revenge... and this voice got louder the more he thought about it, stirring his doubts and feeding the guilt that was loaded on his shoulders, weighing him down.

When Lucifer passed the piano, he carelessly tossed his jacket onto its lid. The soft, dull sound it made when it landed on top, reminded him of his brother's notebook, and the prophecies that were written inside. Bloody, stupid book! Right now, he hated it! And he hated his brother! For having left it behind in the first place. What was it good for if he couldn't prevent its outcome? What was the bloody point in telling him if everything he tried would eventually lead to their fulfilments? Was it just to torture him? Having one last laugh at his expense? To watch him endure agony while he desperately tried to save Chloe? To let him know what would come in the end and not be able to do anything about it?

Enraged, he continued his path to the bathroom, ripping his shirt open and tossing it to the ground, before he opened his belt, unzipped his trousers and let everything fall down. Stepping out of them, he entered the bathroom, heading for the shower. He turned on the hot water when he was inside, letting it pelt down on his bare skin and slowly getting covered in its steam.

/-/

The ride to her house had been silent except for her short questions about her daughter; if she was alright and Dan's confirmation that he'd dropped Trixie off at school before starting the search for her, followed by his second scolding to her, adding that the person who'd turned off the power supply to trap them was most probably that twin. Chloe barely listened to his rants and shortly after, their conversation ran dry. She already felt bad enough for letting the twin escape. For having let her emotions cloud her judgement. But wallowing in self-pity wouldn't help anyone at the moment, least of all herself. All she could do now was helping to find him, to make up for her mistake.

When they arrived at her house, Dan got out of the car as well and escorted her right up to her front door. Chloe had barely inserted the key into the lock as the door swung wide open and they were greeted by a brightly smiling Maze. Without a word, Chloe rushed past her, walking to the end of the kitchen counter to bring enough space between her and her ex without making it look obvious.

"And? Did you find them sleeping in her car? Or did they decide for a hotel room?" Maze needled Dan and flashed him a smug grin. She still was elated about how he'd showed up at her door this morning. His behaviour had constantly changed between that of a worried mother hen and a jealous ex, and she couldn't help having fun teasing him about it now.

"Neither," Dan dryly countered, not at all being in the mood for joking. "They were trapped in a lift," he informed her without any emotion in his tone.

Maze crossed her arms in front of her chest, the grin stretched even wider across her face. "Oooh, so maybe they did get some fun after all," she mumbled under her breath and her gaze turned slightly into the direction of her roommate.

"This is serious, Maze!" Dan scolded her and punished her with a withering look as she focused her attention back on him. "Don't let her out of your sight," he ordered and slightly bent his head so he could have a look at both women while he continued, "She's suspended and when I come back, I'll drive her to the precinct."

"Do I look like a babysitter?" she retorted grumpily and let out a low huff. After all, Chloe was a grown woman, and, to top it all off, she knew she didn't even need to hope to get paid for that. The dark glare she instantly received from him would have made her shiver with fear if she were able to feel something like that...

"This is partly your fault!" he reproached her sharply. "You promised me to take care of her, remember? And not to help her get into trouble up to her neck! You owe me!"

Immediately the memories came rushing back into Maze's head: The times she'd visited her in the hospital. The day Chloe finally got released and was back home. And the nights that had followed; how she'd waited outside the Detective's room, counting down the minutes until her friend would start screaming her heart out and she'd come rushing inside, waking her up and soothing her back to sleep until the next attack followed. How those nightmares had eventually lessened and those minutes had turned into hours... With a serious look on her face, she nodded at him. "Alright! I won't let her out of my sight," she promised, receiving a thankful nod from him, and watched him turning around to leave before she closed the door.

Chloe quickly lowered her gaze when Maze walked past her, only observing her out of the corners of her eyes, how she headed for the fridge and got out the vodka, taking a large sip right from the bottle. She turned her sight back on the counter in front of her and sighed deeply. It was as if a curse rested on her shoulders. First, the complete past day had been one big disaster, then the whole thing with Lucifer threw her so heavily off the track that she had absolutely no idea where they stood, and now she even got Maze into trouble. Crestfallen, she breathed out a low sigh and started putting her stuff on the counter, first her gun, then she emptied her pockets. "Damn it!" she quietly cursed when she suddenly held Lucifer's phone in her hands. She'd completely forgotten to give it back to him. As she heard Maze's mumbled "What?" she turned to her, holding the cell phone into the air. She didn't like to impose even more on her, but Lucifer might need it and Dan's words had been clear. "Could you do me the favour and bring this to Lucifer?" she asked, silently crossing her fingers.

Maze sternly shook her head. "Nope! You've heard Dan," she answered dryly and walked around the counter, making a bee-line for the front door.

The initial disappointment on Chloe's face quickly changed into that of confusion. "Where are you going?" she asked, perplexed.

"Bring you to Lucifer, of course," Maze stated matter-of-factly, and added with a wink, "Dan said to not let you out of my sight and this is exactly what I'm going to do."

Chloe smiled delightedly at her roommate. This way she could also check on him and get her car back, she thought and grabbed her car keys, following her out of the house. She stopped suddenly and stared at the keys in wonderment. How did Lucifer manage to drive her car without them?

/-/

Lucifer's skin was already deep red where the hot water kept on pelting down on him. But he didn't care. His inner voice was too loud to let anything filter down to him from the outside; it screamed at him that it was _his_ fault, that _he_ did this to Chloe. In the beginning, he'd tried to push these thoughts away, to tell himself that there still was a chance it was just a coincidence, but soon his resistance was broken and he surrendered to his own torture and gave himself to the pain that burned his heart and cut right into his soul, leaving a scar that would deprive him of the tiniest moment of peace for eternity.

He was so filled with guilt and blame that he hadn't even realised when he wasn't alone in the bathroom any longer. Only slowly, when his own strength was almost fully depleted, did he notice a fierce voice shouting at him. With a start, it pulled him back into the here and now, and he realised that half his body was aching immensely. He quickly turned off the tap, feeling the pain instantly disappear, and once again cursed at his immortality.

"Where have you been?" Candy shouted furiously, her voice slightly lowered now that she didn't have to compete against the sound of the water jet any longer. When she'd arrived at the apartment, seeing his clothes spread all over the place, she'd been worried for him. But as soon as she'd entered the bathroom, getting ignored by him for who knows how long, that worry had quickly disappeared and made room for her anger. She folded her arms in front of her chest, containing herself to give him one last chance, and impatiently waited for his answer. It didn't come. Instead, he raised his hand again, gripping the tap, and was about to switch the shower back on. "Get out of there and answer me!" she instantly yelled at him, grabbing a towel and holding it out to him.

Lucifer squinted his eyes, lightly hung his head, and groaned quietly. He'd rather beat himself up a little longer with the scalding water but also knew she wouldn't leave him alone. And right now, he couldn't stand her presence. Turning around, he stepped out of the shower and grabbed the towel from her, drying his hair before he wrapped it around his waist and walked to the mirror. The image of him was flawless, not even the slightest red marks had been left in the areas where the hot water had burned him and he quickly averted his gaze in disgust at himself.

His silence only fuelled the thoughts in her mind and she continued with her interrogation. "You've been with that Detective, am I right?" she spat her accusation, her nails digging holes into the palms of her fists.

He rubbed his hands over his face, trying to get rid of the thoughts that immediately haunted him at the sound of her title. With his eyes closed, he sighed heavily and then moved his hands further up, running his fingers through his hair. When he opened his eyes again, Candy's reflection in the mirror looked daggers at him, and he turned slightly to her, mumbling annoyedly, "Candy, not now!"

A low growl crawled up her throat and she clenched her teeth together to stifle it. His reply was proof enough for her that her assumption was right, and the anger it stirred seethed underneath her skin. She watched him reaching for the brush and hair dryer as if nothing had happened, and she quickly grasped his arm and pulled it away, tugging at him until he faced her. "Did you have sex with her?" she pressed through her teeth, staring at him deadly serious.

Her words brought Lucifer's blood to the boil. In a fury, he fully turned around, grabbed her arm with his free hand and tried to shove her out of the bathroom.

Candy only wrestled herself free and punched against his chest, yelling at him even more hostilely, "Did you have sex with her?"

"No!" he yelled back as loudly as he could. He panted with rage, his fingers tightly bent in towards his palms, letting his knuckles appear almost white and presenting a sharp contrast to the black pupils that flared through his narrowed eyes. "I would never have _sex_ with her!" he added loudly, his voice was still filled with the outrage within him. But he wasn't angry at Candy any longer. He was angry at himself, and once again the guilt about having jeopardised Chloe's life seized hold of him. This wasn't fair! This wasn't what the woman had told him! Never ever would he have used that book if he'd known she would have to pay the price for his vengeance. Chloe, the only woman that truly meant something to him! His chest grew heavy, and he felt it harder to breathe the more he thought about her, the night in the lift, and what she'd told him. He caused her pain, with his mere presence. He never wanted to hurt her, or make her cry. _'All I ever want is to give her whatever she desires, to show her what I truly feel for her,'_ he declared in his mind. "I only want to make love to her."

The pleased smile that had settled down on her face at his first reply, quickly dropped with the words that quietly left his lips. She stared at him, baffled and perplexed, and muttered, aghast, "What do you mean by that?"

Her question made him aware that he'd spoken those last words out aloud. An instant wave of shame washed over him, adding up to his guilt, and he hastily turned his sight away from his wife. "Leave me alone," he hissed darkly, and added a little lower, "I need to get ready!" With that, he grabbed the hairdryer and brush, ignoring any further expressions from her, and concentrated on doing his hair.

Lucifer listened to the footsteps that walked away from him and when the sound of the door falling shut met his ears, his arms instantly dropped onto the basin, gripping the Italian marble as he let out a silent, desperate scream. With each passing hour, this world felt harder to live in, and he doubted that he'd have enough strength to survive the next week. But he had to. He needed to... Closing his eyes, he called himself to order. It wouldn't help him if he kept on crying about it. He couldn't go back now, anyway. He had to pull through, and then, when everything was over, save what can be saved. Nodding to himself, he locked away his emotions, straightened his back, and took a deep breath. After exhaling the air from his lungs, he grabbed the items again and continued with getting ready.

It didn't take long until everything on him was neat again, and he went into the dressing room, grabbing the first suit that was hanging on the rail, and quickly dressed. Carrying his jacket in his hand, he walked out of the room and straight to the piano, only realising that the cover of it was empty when he wanted to reach for his other jacket. "Where's my jacket?" he growled into Candy's direction, tossing the new one onto the lid, and turned back to her.

"I picked up your clothes and put them on the stool in the dressing room," she answered right away, irritated that he hadn't seen them when he'd walked past them.

At a quick pace, Lucifer walked back, stopped right next to her and warned her harshly, "Don't you ever touch my stuff again!" Without another word, he continued his way back to the dressing room, disappearing inside.

"For what do you need it now, anyway?" she called out to him, a nervous note in her tone, and hastily went after him. "You've just arrived," she pointed out, keeping several feet distance to him as he stopped in front of the stool and rummaged through the clothes for his jacket. "Why do you want to leave again?" she inquired, her voice raised at the end in puzzlement, but she received no answer. When he had his jacket, he pulled out his notebook, giving it a quick once-over, and then turned around, heading for the door again. There was only one place Candy could think of where he would want to go to, and it angered her to no end. She blocked his way, making him stop in front of her, and sternly reminded him, "Lucifer, you're my husband! I don't want you to go to that Detective!" His only reply was a displeased glance before he turned to walk past her. "She won't get you," she snapped at him, flaming mad. "You're mine! Or else, I will-" She couldn't end her sentence as Lucifer suddenly had his hand around her throat and was pushing her against the wall.

"Don't forget your place, Candiceen!" he warned her in a gravely voice, his eyes glowing a fiery red. He let out the rest of his rage with a low growl and removed his hand. "Don't wait for me. It might get late," he informed her tonelessly and turned to the door. He was almost out of the room when her voice resounded behind him.

"I love you!" Candy exclaimed. She got slightly irritated when he stopped dead in his track and didn't make any other move. It seemed as if he'd turned into a pillar of salt, and she added an insecure, "Lucifer?"

The room was suddenly filled with a low chuckle.

Although Lucifer felt the complete opposite of the sound that had left his throat, he couldn't deny the irony that made it downright comical. This was exactly what Chloe had told him in the lift, it shot through his head and he immediately thought back at their fight that had followed. He turned around to Candy, shaking his head, his expression as dark as his heart. "You don't even know what that means," he snubbed her.

"I know what it means!" she countered confidently and folded her arms in protest. "It means that you always want to be together with that person, no matter what."

"Wrong!" he retorted brusquely and took a step closer to her. She knew nothing about it! And the fact that she had the cheek to even think one second she could force her way between him and his Chloe infuriated him. The grip on his notebook tightened when the words burst out of him, getting louder with each sentence, "It means that you put the wellbeing of someone else above yours! That you will do anything in your power to keep this person safe and to make her happy. Even if it means that you can't be with her. She is the centre of all your thoughts, and always will be! Because she is the most beautiful soul you've ever known, and it instantly brightens up your darkest days as soon as she is with you. Her voice, her touch, or her smile can turn your worst moments into the best, and I want to protect everything she is and stands for. I want to hold her for the rest of my life, but I can't! Because it would hurt her, and this tears me apart! It rips my heart open every time I see her cry, and it gets even worse now that I know, the reason for her tears is me! I can feel her pain! But I can't do anything to take it away from her, even though I would give everything I have. And more! I would do anything for her, anything to save her life, even if it means my death!" Lucifer shouted the last words at the top of his voice and when he was done, he panted, exhausted and out of breath. He inhaled deeply, and while he released the air from his lungs again, his self-control slowly came back. He stared at Candy, seeing the baffled look on her face, and huffed snidely, "You know nothing about love! You only want to possess!" With that, he turned around and walked out of the dressing room, heading for the piano.

He put his notebook on the lid and grabbed his jacket, hearing a dull sound when he picked it up. Flabbergasted, he stared at the phone that was lying in front of him. His phone. But his mind quickly went back to his troubled thoughts, and he didn't care to ask himself how it has gotten there in the first place. Putting his notebook in the inside pocket of his jacket, he grabbed his phone, stowed it away and then went straight to the elevator.

/-/

Maze was playing with her knife, swirling it around in her hands, while her eyes were fixed on their newest bartender who was changing the flat tyre on his car. What a _coincidence_ that it had happened just now while she was waiting. She licked her lips when he took off his shirt, the sweat on his bare chest sparkling in the sun, and she grinned to herself. Suddenly her thoughts were rudely interrupted as someone tore open the passenger door. With lightning speed, she turned to the right, her knife reflexively raised, but she quickly relaxed again when she spotted only Chloe taking a seat next to her. "That went fast," she commented with surprise, packed her knife away, and ogled her roommate with an arched eyebrow. "I thought you'd need at least more than," she halted, draw with her finger several circles in front of the Detective, and ended, "two minutes with our prince of darkness."

"Well," Chloe replied sheepishly and turned to grab the belt, silently relieved that she didn't get asked why she looked so flushed. After buckling up, she looked back at her friend and shrugged her shoulders, buying herself more time to find the right words. Somehow Maze always knew when she tried to hide things, so it was better to not fob her off with a white lie if she didn't want to have another earful of the meaning of trust and friendship; especially from someone who up to recently didn't even know how to write those words. On the other hand, however, right now was definitely not the time to have a lengthy discussion in the parking lot in front of LUX. Deciding that their talk could wait until home, she prompted her, "Anyhow, you can start driving."

The eyebrow on Maze's face made a Mexican-wave and she turned in her seat to properly face her friend. "Wasn't he home?" she wondered baffled, but silently doubted that Lucifer would be somewhere else after a night trapped in a lift than with his piano and booze.

Chloe nodded hastily and added a nervous, "Of course."

"And?" Maze probed further, elongating the word and gesturing with her hand to clarify that she expected more than just two words.

She hemmed and hawed, and then answered, not hiding her disappointment, "Candy was there as well."

"So," the demon countered with a shrug of her shoulders.

Chloe stared at her, slightly irritated. "So what?" she retorted, a tad miffed, and subtly urged her, "By the way, you can drive home now."

Maze folded her arms, giving her the ' _really_ ' look and making clear they won't drive anywhere without the talk. "You have pretty good _weapons_ yourself and I'm sure you know how to use them!" she smugly pointed out, "Show him what he could have and he'll dump that bitch within seconds!"

"They are married!" Chloe reproached her sternly, starting to get annoyed. She didn't need someone who'd further encourage this little voice inside her head. Right now, she needed a friend who told her that he was and would be off the table. For eternity!

"That's a reason, Decker. Not a hindrance!" Maze countered cockily.

She should have known that Maze would never be _that_ friend, Chloe thought and grumbled lowly. Her cheeks heated up more when the words she'd just heard resounded through her head, and her nervousness grew: He'd been about to leave, and when he found them still here when he came out of the building, it wouldn't take long for him to count two and two together. She couldn't let that happen! She couldn't face him right now. Not when she knew she wouldn't have herself under control... Turning her look to Maze, Chloe narrowed her eyes and ordered with a dark voice, pointing at the steering wheel, "Drive!"

"What about your car?" Maze prompted dryly, visibly unimpressed by the glare her friend sent her.

Chloe groaned quietly and clenched her fists in frustration. "That's unimportant at the moment!" she snapped and was instantly startled at her own temper. She hunched her shoulders and sent her friend an apologising smile who in turn reprimanded her with a scolding and disbelieving look. Taking a breath to compose herself, she explained, "I'll get it later."

The wheels in the demon's head clattered and suddenly her mouth turned into a cheeky smile. "You want _him_ to bring it to you, don't you?" she elongated the word and added her assumption, not without mocking the name, "This way his _wifey_ isn't in the way!"

Chloe huffed and rolled her eyes. Of course, she wanted that, but she didn't like it at all that it was that obvious to everybody. Pushing the thought away, she concentrated back on the current, most urgent concern. "Maze!" she called her with a mixture of whining and scolding, hoping to finally convince her to leave.

"Chloe!" Maze copied, not letting her off the hook. She found it quite amusing how the Detective was struggling at her teasing and didn't plan to release her anytime soon.

A sudden sound was heard behind them and Chloe's head wheeled around to the building, startled. When she saw that it wasn't him who'd stepped out of the side entrance, she let out a silent, relieved sigh and turned back to Maze, meeting an unexpected, completely different look on her face that almost depicted concern. "Could you please drive?" she pleaded and her tone became desperate.

Maze let out a groan but finally gave in. "Fine!" she stated, starting the engine while ignoring the relieved "thank you" from her friend. When she drove onto the street and sped off, she mumbled frustratedly, "I miss hell."

Chloe knew it wasn't good to encourage her when she had one of those delusions; hopefully, her daughter would be spared from that with all the time she spent with her and Lucifer. But she couldn't stop her mouth from hushing a curious, "Why?"

"At least down there, they tortured themselves for a reason," Maze answered dryly and concentrated back on the cars ahead, thinking about how she could overtake them at the fastest possible.

* * *

 **A/N** : That's the end of the chapter. I hope you liked it. What are your current thoughts? Please let me know and leave a little comment.

And of course, I've borrowed Dawson and Mills from Chicago Fire. Some of you might know that Lauren German used to play on this show before Lucifer :D

Have a nice day!

:o)


	7. Ready to Fight

**A/N:** My dear readers.

I'm so very, very sorry that this chapter took almost two years. I don't want to give you a page-long explanation what happened and why it took so long in particular. Let's just say: Sometimes, it's just not what RL has 'planned' for you. I hope you can forgive me and that you still like the next chapter.

Special thanks to my **beta** **Daemon**. You're awesome! Have always and will always be. I couldn't do without you :D

Enjoy!

* * *

Ready to Fight

o ~ o

 _It had been a lonely time. For the past two weeks, she had been trapped in this unfamiliar room, with the only company being the empty bed next to her and the always-closed curtains in front of the window. Her body was still too exhausted from everything she'd endured, including her treatments, to maintain a normal day-night rhythm, and so she found herself dozing off several times throughout the day. Whenever she was falling asleep or waking up, flashbacks flooded her mind, taking her back to her worst nightmare. In the beginning, she had panicked and screamed her head off. Later, she stopped herself from doing so, pressed a pillow over her face instead and screamed into it until the memories were over, while telling the medical staff that everything was fine whenever they asked. But it wasn't! It would never be fine again! Still, she wanted out of that hospital prison as soon as possible. She had to leave! She needed her home. She needed her daughter. Probably more than her daughter needed her right now. Then, whenever these flashbacks appeared, she pushed them down, didn't let herself be overpowered again. No! She was stronger! She had to be! She pushed these memories down so hard that she couldn't even allow herself to think about it, not even for a split second. She buried them deep down inside of her, didn't let them come to the surface, and thus, not out of her system. Mentally and emotionally trapped in the gloom, she pretended that it hadn't been her this vicious crime had been done to, but someone else; someone who was standing right in front of her, and she couldn't leave or even look away from that person. There was no glimmer, nothing for her to see through the darkness with which she'd surrounded herself, no light shone to guide her out, and unwittingly, she made certain that it was kept this way._

 _In the beginning, the nurses who came in to check on her drew the curtains to let the sun in. But she kept telling them to pull them back close immediately. She couldn't tolerate the brightness of the world outside yet; all those people who went on with their normal lives, unaffected by it all, and unscarred... she couldn't bear the thought of them. She didn't even allow her daughter to visit her, although her heart broke every time she heard Trixie's cries on the phone, begging her to change her mind, longing for her mother's warm embrace. She couldn't. She feared that, although her face had already healed, her daughter would instantly see the scars on her; that they would become visible again as soon as she caught sight of her, letting her know that she'd been weak, and it ashamed her to no end. She wanted her child to still believe in this world as a good place and to trust that no matter what happened, she was there to protect her. She wanted her daughter to feel safe. She owed it to her._

 _"If they'd let me get this scumbag, he'd have been in prison a long time ago! And this woman would still be alive," she suddenly heard Maze say, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Heck, he wouldn't even breathe earthly air anymore!" the demon added and shoved a big spoon full of chocolate pudding into her mouth. Chloe stole a glance at the now half-empty lunch table from which she'd allowed her friend to eat as soon as she'd spotted her gazing at it with hungry eyes._

 _Today was the first day she was given solid food, but she wasn't hungry at all. Maybe it was because of the strictly liquid diet she'd been on for the last 13 days that her stomach forgot how it felt to be filled, but she also knew she had to start eating soon. Her body was weak. And that was the very thing she never wanted to allow herself to be ever again. With Maze's words still in her head, she felt the need to respond and looked over at her, half lying and half sitting in the bed beside her. Her mind was searching for a fitting answer, but there was nothing, only emptiness. And so, it drifted off and her blank eyes followed her friend's gaze up to the TV in the corner. It showed a news reporter speaking in front of the huge concrete building where the perpetrator was inside, captured a day after a fourth victim was found dead._

 _When footage of the man, the monster, entering the building was shown, a cold shiver went down Chloe's spine and she hastily turned away in disgust and fright. But quickly her feelings were replaced by another, more dominant emotion: Anger. She'd used all her strength to describe this man to the police artist, and still, they weren't able to catch that scum until another woman fell victim to him. It frustrated her, it outraged her, that she'd allowed this to happen. The pain her body still was in was the only way she could punish herself with; for being so sloppy in the first place. But that wasn't the only reason she didn't allow her system to get soothed by painkillers; it was also the only way she could feel alive. When the nurses had come in to give her a dose for sleep, she still felt numb for hours afterwards. And on top of that, she felt a strange detachment to her body, as if it was no longer hers. And she hated it! Fortunately, this treatment was stopped today as well. She'd healed enough that the doctors decided to put her on self-medication. This morning, they even removed the catheter through which she had peed for the last two weeks and told her to call someone if necessary. But that wouldn't happen! The weakness of her body, the dependence on the help of other people in her daily routine, had already embarrassed her enough. She wouldn't allow anyone else to see her in another one of her frail moments._

 _She shouldn't have thought about it, Chloe silently scolded herself, as just in that moment, she felt the need to relieve herself. Deciding that it was best to not ignore nature's call and better get it over with as fast as possible, she sat up._

 _Soft rustling noises reached Maze's ear. She stole a glance at Chloe and saw her trying to get out of bed. "Wait, let me help you," she commented quickly, her voice wrapped in a hint of concern, and hurried to her side, grabbing her by the arm and lifting her in support before Chloe could even start to protest or tell her why she wanted to leave her place anyway._

 _"I'm fine," Chloe hastily assured and tried to pull her arm away, but her friend wouldn't let go. "Really, I can do it alone," she insisted more confidently this time, and eventually Maze let go of her, but only so far that she could catch her immediately in case she skidded or collapsed._

 _With Maze on her heels, Chloe made her way to the bathroom. The floor felt slippery under her bare feet and her muscles began to tremble from the unusual use. She tried her best to remain upright, but before she could even reach the handle of the door, her body was about to drop down. However, the feared fall didn't happen. It took Chloe a moment to realize that Maze had not only caught her fall, but had also picked her up as if she weighed no more than a doll, and was carrying her into the bathroom._

 _"Where to now?" Maze asked, still not having figured it out._

 _Reluctantly and with a deep red face, Chloe pointed forward and mumbled, "To the toilet, please." When Maze sat her down on it, a gentle "thank you" left her lips and she quickly took a breath to gather some strength to say more clearly, "You can go now."_

 _"Nope," the demon replied, firmly shaking her head once, and folded her arms in front of her chest to underline her refusal._

 _"Maze, really, I'm fine," Chloe urged her, adding a quiet, "I don't need you to watch me pee."_

 _Again, her friend just shook her head. "I've seen worse in hell, Decker," she replied with a shrug. "Believe me, with everything your body's been through, you want me next to you in case the pain gets too much."_

 _The pain! Right! The nurses had told her this morning that she would probably feel a slight burn when relieving herself for the next couple of times, that it was something she didn't need to be concerned about because it was normal after having had a foreign object in her body for so long. Then, she'd quickly dismissed the info, having felt confident that she could handle a slight burn after all that had happened, but right now, she wasn't so sure anymore. In fact, she was a bit afraid of how it would feel. Still, this wasn't enough to embarrass herself even more so she urged her once again, "Maze, please."_

 _But the other woman only looked at her with her eyebrows raised, slightly shook her head again and replied, "I'm not leaving you alone in here."_

 _Hesitantly, Chloe finally nodded her approval. The pressure inside of her was too much to keep talking about it, anyway. Besides, half the precinct already knew by now what she looked like naked and maltreated. 'So what was one more?' she told herself, also to calm down. She relaxed a little and then, she felt it: Little drops of urine burning their way out of her and suddenly it was as if all the nerves inside her body remembered at once how they had been tortured. They simultaneously fired off all the pain they had stored, and sensations sharp as razor blades cut through her, making their way to her brain in the split of a second, where they were intensified and then turned around, racing back down again like a thunderous roar that dragged everything along its path like a tsunami, as if they had waited for her to be alert enough to endure all this once again. She took a sharp breath and cramped her muscles, trying to hold back again but she couldn't. Tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks when a muffled cry left her lips, and she wished herself back to how it had been for the past two weeks, when it had felt as if that part of her body had been dead or replaced by a copy._

 _Maze quickly grabbed her hand and gently squeezed it, holding back her own anger at seeing her friend so hurt. "If only I'd gotten my hands on that scumbag and not the police. He would have gotten his fair share by now, instead of sitting in a nice, cosy cell with cable TV."_

 _"Next time, Maze," Chloe pressed through her lips, trying to concentrate on anything other than the pain. It lasted another agonisingly long moment, but eventually the pain began to subside and a relieved sigh left her lips. At least now it was all over._

 _Maze nodded firmly and gave her another squeeze. "I'll take you up on that, Decker." She waited until the human was done and then carried her back to bed. "Don't worry, Decker. From now on, I'll be your shadow. No one will ever hurt you again," she promised her when she, rather poorly, tucked her in._

 _Chloe only shook her head. "No, Maze," she disagreed with certainty and a soft spark glowed in her eyes, "If you really want to help me, teach me how to fight!"_

 _Maze's head shot up and she stared at her in disbelief. "You know how to fight, Decker."_

 _"Not how to fight like you," she declared matter-of-factly. "I want to become as strong as you."_

 _"That's impossible," Maze countered nonchalantly. "I'm a demon, remember? Humans can't attain our strength no matter how hard they train."_

 _Chloe rolled her eyes over her friend's delusion, but she couldn't care less about that now. Maze was strong, stronger than anyone she'd ever known, and if she could become just a fraction of her, she knew, she'd be safe again. "There's still a lot you can teach me, right?" she replied with conviction._

 _Maze nodded, and after a short thought she promised her she'd be her teacher._

o ~ o

"Great!" Chloe thought when she glanced at the clock on her bedside table and let her face drop back onto the pillow, pressing her head further in to stifle the frustrated groan that left her throat, followed by an even more frustrated "damn it!"

It was already past noon! She'd slept for almost three hours! Something she hadn't even intended to do in the first place! That she was too exhausted to talk had only been an excuse to keep Maze from probing further into the reason why they practically had to flee LUX. And her going up to her room had just been another cover. But then she saw her bed. So soft and cosy and inviting. It basically called out to her and she figured that all the thinking about what to do next could also be done lying down, maybe even with her eyes closed since her lids had suddenly felt as heavy as stones... and then, the second she hit the pillow, she was out.

And now, she was feeling too tired to even get up! But she had to! Forcing herself, she first sat up and then placed her feet on the ground. After a little moment and with one final push, she finally stood.

Somehow the room began to spin and her legs gave way, and she landed right back on her bed, her eyes falling shut again as a slight burning started. "Damn it!" she growled. Her whole body screamed to go back to sleep, but she couldn't! She shouldn't! Lately, she'd been sleeping so much, it felt as if she was doing nothing but that. She swore that she also began to lose her sense of time. A luxury she couldn't afford just yet. They almost had him! Yesterday, this monster twin was within reach and then she let him get away! She'd let him lock her in that stupid elevator! ' _Dan was right!_ ' it shot through her head. If he gets another victim, it'll be her fault! Stupid, stupid brain of hers. She should have known it was a trap! It was too perfect to be true, but still she walked right into it. And to top it all, she'd let herself get trapped with Lucifer, of all people.

Lucifer!

The thought of him made her turn around and groan into the pillow again, but for a different reason this time.

Damn it, Lucifer! Why did he have to complicate things so much? Why couldn't she simply hate him for leaving her and then coming back – married! Why did he have to explain it to her, so she, once again, felt sympathy for him? The only one she should feel sympathy for was herself! But no! There he was. Trapped with her. Getting to experience her darkest moments first-hand! Even comforting her. Making her feel safe in his arms! So soft and yet so strong... a perfect fit to protect her... and then those words she heard him say… yelled at Candy… the meaning of them…

"Damn it!" Chloe hissed and her frustration slowly turned into despair. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" And now, she sounded like a broken record, too! Turning in her bed, she stared at the ceiling with wide open eyes, her mind now fully awake. "I need to talk to him!" she exclaimed, pushed herself up and left the room.

She had to walk carefully, though. Her sleep-drenched limbs were still too wobbly to carry her steadily across the floor, and when she reached the stairs, she gripped the handrail extra firmly so as not to skid and fall down, and it didn't help at all that her mind decided to go, once again, back to the words she'd heard up there in Lucifer's Penthouse instead of concentrating on the task that was lying ahead.

Even Maze had recognised that something was off with her on the way home. She could tell by the looks she'd thrown at her from time to time. At least she didn't mention anything or asked her about it. Thank God! Because even if she wanted to tell her, she didn't know how. The words he'd spoken… they sounded like… Chloe quickly shook her head and almost tripped in the process. They didn't just sound like it, she corrected herself. They felt like it, deep in her heart! She had to speak with him about them, and not only to make certain that they were not something her mind had made up to make her happy. She was already too attached to him than she'd liked to, and she couldn't deny that any longer. So she really had to make sure that what he'd said was meant for her. The way he described the meaning of love… she needed to know he truly felt it… for _her_. That it was _her_ , he was talking about... before her heart would break again.

Her thoughts came to an abrupt end when she reached the last step. She swiftly pushed them to the back of her head and put on a nonchalant expression before she headed to Maze, who, as so often, was sitting in front of the TV.

"Finally awake, huh?" the demon commented dryly when she heard her approaching, her mouth still filled with the remains of cereal as she shoved another spoonful into it, while her eyes were firmly fixed on the brightly coloured cartoon figures, scurrying across the screen, shouting at each other in a high-pitched voice.

Chloe nodded groggily, and when she realised her friend couldn't see her, she added an exhausted "yes". ' _Would it be too obvious to ask her to drive_ _me_ _to LUX_ _again_ _?'_ it ran through her head, and, agreeing with herself, she decided that instead it was best to secretly call him to bring her the car. This would also be the perfect excuse for her to have him alone… to talk of course… at least without Candy… ' _W_ _ell, maybe_ _I_ _could_ _also_ _bring Maze to leave the sitting area,_ ' Chloe thought, and absent-mindedly her gaze went around, looking for her phone. She was startled when her sight suddenly landed on two piercing eyes, staring at her from behind the couch.

"Lucifer already brought your car… about an hour ago, maybe two," Maze revealed to her as if she was reading her mind, her arm was lying casually on the backrest of the couch while she'd twisted her upper body towards the Detective before turning back to the TV, untangling the seemingly uncomfortable position.

Chloe was startled anew. Not only by her words, which had turned her cheeks into a light shade of pink, but much more by the meaning of them. "What?" it quietly left her lips and her eyes searched the room for the person she now wanted the most, wishing he'd be here somewhere. But apart from Maze, the room was empty. When the surprise faded and disappointment took its place, her heart sank in her chest and she turned back to her roommate. "Why didn't you wake me?" she wanted to know, leaving unspoken the real question _'why didn't he?'_ and once again her eyes searched the room as if he would appear through the sheer willpower of her heart… but he didn't.

Maze only shrugged her shoulders. "He didn't want me to wake you," she answered matter-of-factly. Putting another load of cereal in her mouth, she continued with a loud crunching noise, "Said you needed the sleep." She didn't get a response from Chloe and peeked towards her, seeing an unusual expression on her face that suddenly made her very uncomfortable. As if she'd just told her that her pet hamster had died, or as if she'd used her as target for archery. This crushed face of hers, which she desperately tried to hide beneath a nonchalant gaze, was so awkward to look at, that she felt the need to distract her and informed her further, "By the way, your ex called, said he'd get Trixie from school and bring her over later."

" _Damn it!"_ thought Chloe and cursed herself. She totally forgot about her daughter! Why wasn't she the first one on her mind when she'd woken up? Why did it always have to be Lucifer? She shook her head slightly, trying to get rid of the thought of him that filled her mind again. Her daughter was more important! Maybe she was worried sick that her mother hadn't taken her to school or called her to tell her everything was okay? She must feel abandoned and lonely, Chloe told herself over and over again, and over again the little voice in the back of her head replied with a whispered ' _But Trixie is fine. She's safe right now. She's taken care of._ ' At first, she felt even worse that she couldn't bring herself to put her daughter first, but eventually she agreed with that voice. Right now, her daughter was in the safest place she could be. At school. And Dan would take her home. He wouldn't put her in danger. Never! So what was it that she actually tried not to think about?

Once again, Chloe went over all the thoughts she had since waking up. And then it finally hit her! Lucifer wouldn't have let her sleep when everything had been alright! Well, on a second guess, he would've, but he also would've stayed here, right beside her, to protect her. Since this morning, he'd been acting weird. Like something big was bothering him. She'd even noticed it herself after they were rescued by Dan, but his rebuke at her made her completely forget to worry about Lucifer. But not now! Something was wrong with him! Had it been the words he used when he yelled at Candy that put her off? The way they sounded like when he was talking about... her... maybe. Chloe quickly shook her head to get rid of this idea that had sneaked in again. Once and for all, she told herself, he had no feelings for her! Period! He couldn't have! Even if he only married Candy as a cover, as he'd called it. If he really had a thing for her, if he truly… loved... her, wouldn't he at least... tell her? After all, he was upfront with everything else on his mind, wasn't he? That little voice inside her head firmly disagreed and her heart grew within her chest, nourished by the feeling of hope these thoughts raised, but when her head spun further, a soft sigh left her lips. Maybe that's exactly why he didn't want to wake her. Perhaps it was only at that moment that he realised what he'd felt for her all along, and now he didn't know how to react towards her? It would be typical of him as well, wouldn't it?… She groaned quietly when she realised that, once again, her mind had spun into that vicious Lucifer-cycle that filled her thoughts with hopes and wishes instead of going through the hard facts. It was almost futile to think of something else, as if he was a magnet and no matter what she tried, she couldn't pull away from him. Her cheeks blushed as she caught herself wishing he was here to wrap his arms back around her and soothe her nerves, and they turned another shade brighter when again, she found her roommate's eyes pinned on her. She quickly shook her head and tried to think of something else to not give away anything. It was useless, though. Unintentionally, the corners of her lips curled upwards. She pressed them together, putting on a casual look, and turned around. She had to do something about it! Walking up to the kitchen counter to get her phone, she picked it up and selected his contact. There was only one way to find out the truth.

A picture of him popped up with the little green button for 'call' right below and Chloe instantly recalled the moment Lucifer had snatched her cell phone and took that photo of himself. So that whenever he called, she had something to look at, was his excuse of doing so. She stared at the bold, cheeky grin and his warm brown eyes, staring right back at her as if he could look right into her soul. This picture was telling her ' _everything's_ _fine,_ ' and Chloe tried to remember the last time she'd seen him so carefree. Her heart sank in her chest when she remembered the real reason she felt something was off with him. The way he'd acted after they were rescued. He was so silent and wanted to leave instantly. He didn't even make sure she was alright... And then later, those words he'd yelled at Candy... when she for once ignored what he'd said and only listened to the emotions they'd carried, then they were filled with despair and anger and sorrow. Those weren't the feelings you had when you just found out who your heart was beating for. Those were feelings you had when you were crushed or broken… by someone… or something you just realised... And then he brought her car without staying; as if he wanted to make sure she had no reason to see him. Had it been her breakdown? Had she scared him off? For good? Her heart became even heavier when she imagined him full of sorrow, and the need to be with him grew stronger. She wanted to rush out that door, drive to him and make sure he was fine, but something inside her kept her from moving a single muscle. Should she give him space? Maybe he was just overwhelmed and needed some time… She surely should wait until he calls her… but what if he wouldn't do it?… And she really had to know if he was all right… Well, there was another way to find out at least that… She turned around and headed over to Maze, sat down on the left corner of the couch and watched her with big eyes. "How did he look?" she inquired.

"Who?" Maze only counter-questioned, her voice blurred from the stuffed sweets.

"Lucifer!" she answered and immediately made her impatience clear. "What did he look like to you?" she repeated more insistently.

Maze peered at her, her eyebrows arched in confusion. "Like... Lucifer?" she replied slowly, her voice had turned a little high at the end, giving away that she had absolutely no idea what this human had meant by that question.

A moment of silence fell between them. Chloe had her eyes still locked on her friend, not knowing how to express her thoughts without giving away too much. Dan hadn't told Maze about what Lucifer and she had found out so far. That was for sure. Otherwise she wouldn't be sitting here, watching cartoons so relaxedly. But shouldn't she know to properly recognise his mood? Should she tell Maze about Galant's twin? Part of her wanted Maze to know. She was damn sure her friend would instantly jump up, rush out, find that prick like she'd done with Warden Smith, and beat the hell out of him before she would take him to the precinct; if at all. But the other part didn't want her to know for that very reason. After she was released from hospital, back then, Dan had told her in confidence that he had to lock Maze up for a couple of days after they had found her at the brink of death in Lucifer's apartment. Maze had been so furious that no one could reason with her, not even Linda. She'd wanted to find whoever had done this to ' _tear him apart and give him his rightful punishment in hell_ ', as she'd called it.

"What's wrong with you?"

Maze's question brought Chloe right back into the present. She was slightly startled, feeling caught again since her mind had managed to drift off while she was right in the middle of a talk with her. "No-Nothing," she stammered, just to give her friend a reason to stop staring at her so suspiciously, but it caused the exact opposite.

Maze didn't know how to handle her. Since Dan had brought her back, the Detective acted weirder and weirder. And, putting two and two together, being trapped with Lucifer in a lift couldn't have been the only reason for her behaviour. She was keeping something from her. Normally, she didn't care about other people's business, but this human had grown on her. "Answer my question!" she demanded impatiently, incapable of holding back all the tension and suspense any longer. She even added a "Please!" and this emphasis, coming from her, was usually reason enough for any human to comply.

"Promise me you won't do anything without my permission," Chloe replied quickly.

First the strange behaviour, now she starts demanding? That was too much for the demon to bear. "Whatever!" She shrugged off, pissed, and with a loud thud put the bowl of cereal on the coffee table. Standing up, she commented sharply, "I'll find out myself," and turned to leave, when suddenly four uttered words let her freeze.

"Galant has a twin," Chloe blurted out. She hadn't intended to tell her that way, but she couldn't risk Maze doing her own research. She was good at what she was doing, too good; and sooner or later she would have found out everything.

"He has what?" the demon blared, getting louder with every spoken word. She wheeled back around, her face depicting every emotion she felt at that moment: Surprise, disbelief and anger; huge, almost untameable anger. "How long have you known?" she growled with her fists clenched, holding inside that tiny drop that kept her from exploding in the middle of the living room.

There was no turning back now, Chloe realised. She had to come out with the whole truth, and nothing but that. So, she made herself internally ready for another fit and confessed meekly, "Since... well… It was Galant we'd visited in prison." When she saw her rearing up even more in front of her, she quickly ducked her head and added to justify her secret, "I didn't want to tell you precisely because of how you are acting now."

"How I act?!" Maze repeated and went ballistic. She retrieved a dagger from behind her back and threw it with all force that was in her against the opposite wall, letting it bore into the concrete almost up to its shaft.

Chloe still stared at her in astonishment at how she could hide that weapon in her tight pants when Maze jumped over the couch, suddenly holding a second dagger she'd taken out of nowhere, and with a thundering roar she rammed it into Trixie's door, bursting open the solid wood and leaving a huge hole. Chloe instantly sprang up, instinctively wanting to hold Maze back, but when she reminded herself who was in front of her, she stopped at a safety distance and yelled at her instead, hoping this would bring sense into her, "Hey! That's my daughter's room in there!" Apparently it worked, when the demon stopped stabbing the door and turned to her.

"You lied to me!" Maze accused her, still furious, but now that some of it was out of her system, she was able to keep the remaining anger at bay.

"No," Chloe countered, reflexively shaking her head, and held up her hands in surrender when she admitted ruefully, "I just didn't correct you, when you assumed I needed all this for the church-murder case."

"No, stupid!" The demon countered harshly. "You should have told me the moment you knew there is a twin!" When she saw the puzzled look on Chloe's face, she shook her head in disappointment and reminded her, "You promised me I could have him!"

"What!?" the Detective exclaimed in a high-pitched voice and looked at her in utter disbelief. "No!" she denied, not remembering such an act. "I never promised-"

"That day at the hospital! You said I can have the next one!" Maze shouted, cutting her off mid-sentence.

Slowly, those memories crawled back into her mind: The day they'd watched him on the news. When they had that talk in the bathroom. Chloe squinted her eyes to push them away again and then took a low breath to collect her thoughts before she cautiously informed her, "I didn't know there were two at that time." Seeing her friend about to lose it again, she begged her, "Maze, please, calm down."

"I won't calm down!" Maze barked. "I'm gonna hunt that piece of shit."

"Please, let the police handle it," Chloe tried again, but it was as if Maze didn't even listen to her any longer.

"The police already had their chance to find one killer! I'm gonna make sure the second one gets punished accordingly this time, before he goes down there," she stated and pointed to the ground. She turned around and grabbed her jacket, ignoring the pleading "Maze, stop," from the human and brushing off the hands from her arm that were trying to keep her from leaving, when suddenly a thought crossed her mind and made her stop outright. Turning back, she inquired, her voice as normal as before, blocking the emotions, "Does Lucifer know?" Chloe didn't need to answer her. It was written all over her face and it made Maze feel a new wave of fury. "So he didn't do anything about it?" she went on, raging. "All this time he's gone berserk when someone just tapped you with their finger, and now he's not doing anything about him? He allows this piece of shit to freely walk the earth?"

"Because he respects my wish to go after him myself," Chloe declared with a raised voice, slowly starting to lose it herself. "I know damn well that if I just said 'yes', he wouldn't rest a single second until he had presented me that man's head on a silver plate, decorated with his balls and dick in his mouth, but that's not how it works. This man must be handed over to justice and I will make sure of it. I'm the detective here!" she clarified strongly and nodded briefly, internally proud of herself; it was about time she finally took back all the things that this man, this monster, had robbed her of.

Maze snorted and shook her head."Yeah," she uttered with a bored voice that turned to slight curiosity as she added, "Just like dozens of your colleagues. So, why don't you let them do that?" Still holding the door in her hand, she started swinging it a little, making it look like she was torn between walking and staying while waiting for the answer.

Chloe refused to let her gesture unsettle her. With a serious voice and a steady look, she made clear, "I've gotten closer to him in the last 24 hours than my colleagues in the past two months! Do you really think I'm gonna let some incompetent cop screw up that case?"

"Are you talking about yourself now?" Maze countered mockingly. "Because, after all, you were the one who had to be freed from an elevator this morning, right?"

"That won't happen again!" she asserted, and her gaze became even more determined.

The demon grinned as if she knew how much she had gotten under Chloe's skin with her statement. "Well, then let me catch him and you can gain the laurels," she suggested in such a casual tone that one might have thought she had long forgotten her rage, but she was only channelling it in a different, more productive way. "We both know anyway that I am much better at hunting people than you are," she scoffed.

"Not alone, Maze," Chloe declined in such a threateningly calm voice that any man's hair would have stood on end, if one had been present. "I will be there and make sure he gets his just punishment," she insisted dead-serious. Only to be laughed at loudly by her friend.

"And what does that look like, huh? Cable TV and three meals a day?" Maze called out sneeringly.

Chloe's eyes narrowed and almost appeared black with hatred. "Not this time!" she whispered so quietly that the demon almost missed it.

But only almost...

For a moment, she stared at her in silence, slightly bobbing her head while she scrutinised her attentively. Then her gaze turned briefly towards the door. She breathed in, huffed out the air again and then slammed the door shut with a loud bang. "Fine!" she suddenly gave in and turned to face her friend. "But I'm at your side for all the time," she clarified. "I'll make sure you don't get stuck in another elevator."

To have her close was actually quite a good idea, Chloe considered. This would definitely keep her from thinking about the one she didn't want to think about right now, and, this way, she would also have her under control. "Alright," she agreed, making clear, "but I call the shots. You do as I say. Understood?"

Maze nodded vigorously and folded her arms in front of her chest, already feeling the energy; she was more than ready for this hunt. "So, what are your plans?" she asked eagerly.

Blowing the air out of her lungs to buy herself some time, Chloe thought intensively about it, but couldn't even come up with the simplest idea. "Don't know," it left her lips and she shrugged.

"How can you call the shots when you don't even have a plan?" Maze criticised her uncomprehendingly.

"It's not that simple, Maze," Chloe defended herself. "I'm suspended at the moment, and if I go out there now, I'm gonna get Dan in trouble. I don't want him to lose his badge because of me. First, we have to wait until he's done examining the scene before we can go back there and find out if there are any traces of where he would go next."

"We don't have to go back there," Maze countered, slightly shaking her head as the idea formed in her head. "We can ping his phone again, maybe he hasn't gotten rid of it yet. Then we can track him down. And when we're done with him, the police can have what's left."

Chloe folded her arms and tilted her head, making clear that this wasn't what was going to happen. Her brain was working on full speed and a plan of how to trap that twin was almost graspable, when suddenly the picture in her mind presented someone completely different. Someone familiar. Someone she felt like betraying if she didn't tell him they were after that twin again… Damn it! She couldn't just ignore him and wait till he comes to her. That wasn't what she wanted! He was more important! He... "First, I have to make sure Lucifer's okay," she announced loudly, and without another word spent at her roommate, she took out her phone and dialled his number.

"Why?" Maze asked blankly, but got no answer as Chloe had already pressed the device against her ear.

Several rings sounded before the call went to voicemail and Chloe pressed the end button. Concern nestled down in her stomach again. He'd never not taken her call; only when he'd stood her up or had left town, she remembered, and suddenly fear mixed with her worries. She called him again, and again several rings went by without him picking up. Was he avoiding her? The very thought tore her heart to pieces, even if she still denied herself that honesty. She faced Maze again, asking, "Could you go over to him and see if he's alright?"

Maze only huffed in disagreement. "He's a big boy, Decker. He can take care of himself."

"Not this time, Maze," Chloe objected gravely and slightly shook her head. Deciding to tell her a little bit more, she explained, "When we were trapped, we had some time to talk; to _properly_ talk to each other, and now… I'm worried about him, Maze. I'm afraid he's going to do something stupid. I just need to know he's okay." When she didn't hear an answer from her, she added a gentle "please," and received a second huff from her friend. She waited, stifling down the rumbling in her stomach that had come up at the thought of him leaving her again.

' _Shit!_ ' Maze thought when she saw little watery lines at the lower lids of Chloe's eyes. _'Don't break down and cry in front of me!_ ' She quickly changed her mind and decided it was in her own best interest to keep the human happy, so she agreed with a loud "Alright!" She rolled her eyes and groaned silently when the Detective instantly beamed all over her face and wrapped her in a quick, tight embrace, before she practically shoved her out of the door.

/-/

Lucifer stared at the name of the lost call, seeing the image of her forming before his inner eye; her beautiful eyes and her smile, that drew small laughter lines at their sides. This time, her image didn't lift his mood, it lowered it even more. The phone went black again. He sighed with sadness and then put it on the side of the washbasin, placing it upside down so he wouldn't have to see her name flash up if she called again. Then he grabbed the next bottle of whisky, poured it into the basin and threw the empty one into the bin to the others, regretting that he couldn't do the same with himself. His thoughts went back to that night. The glimpse he'd gotten from what she'd gone through, the words she'd told him.

He knew there was nothing he could do about it now. He had to continue with his plan, or even worse things would happen to her. There was only one week left to find the gemstones he needed, and so far he only had one. He was way behind schedule, and with already two prophecies being fulfilled, Chloe would be more and more in danger if he remained close to her.

The little voice in his head reappeared when he was finished with disposing his liquor, disagreeing with him and holding onto the doubt. He pushed the voice to the back of his head, grabbed the bin, left the bathroom and went directly to his dressing room, placed the container in front of the cupboard where he'd kept his cigarettes, opened it and threw them away as well. The voice piped up again: If he was going to avoid her from now on, why did he throw away his stuff? Pressing his eyes close and shaking his head, he turned around and went to his suits, took another sniff at one of them and immediately wrinkled his nose. It still smelled of him. They all did. He'd searched his clothes for almost ten minutes before he found a suit that didn't carry the odour of bourbon and smoke. He couldn't stand that smell any longer. The very thought of wearing something that could cause Chloe such tremendous pain filled him with nausea, and so he threw everything on the floor.

Going back to the bathroom, he grabbed his cell phone and texted his cleaner to come over and get everything washed. Then he stowed it away and left the apartment, intent on continuing with his plan.

He needed those gemstones!

/-/

It was the Carnelian, Lucifer decided to go for first; a warrior stone and that was exactly what he needed right now. The energy and willpower to execute his plan, even though the voice in his head wanted him to leave everything behind and hide under a rock. He wouldn't. He was determined to carry this through. He only had to keep his head occupied...

As he walked down the streets, one foot in front of the other, his mind began to torment him again with the past events. He tried to push them away, to block them out, but they only came back with more force, and soon he even forgot that he had fought them in the first place and his mind was carried far away. Reality only got its hold on him again, when he slowly felt something tugging at his sleeve. He turned his head and spotted a young man of stout form who'd followed him, persistently trying to talk to him.

"You seem so wrapped up in time, you could certainly use a new watch, sir", the man remarked with delight when he finally got his attention.

Lucifer, who still didn't know what was going on, only brushed off these earthly fingers and muttered an annoyed "No need!"

"Then maybe a new bracelet for your love?" the other offered and opened the left side of his coat, revealing several jewels as precious as hot."

Slowly, Lucifer realised what this man was trying to do and his initial blankness was quickly replaced by a whiff of anger. "You've got nothing I need!" He replied with gnashing teeth, keeping his temper down to avoid attracting unnecessary attention.

A cheeky smile settled on the man's face and he retorted, keen on the challenge, "Try me!"

Now his anger was mixed with a good dose of impatience. He had better things to do for crying out loud! Hoping to get rid of him quickest with the truth, he replied disgruntled, "Do you have a Carnelian?!"

Two big, blank eyes suddenly stared at him, and the mouth on the man's face uttered a baffled, "A what?"

"A gem," Lucifer explained and immediately wondered why he bothered to talk to this guy instead of simply punching him down to get his peace. But he also couldn't deny that this man had somehow quipped his interest. Sceptically, he fully turned to the other and stared at him, silently waiting and watching the confused expression on his face turn into a pensive one.

"Well," the man murmured, as he thought for a moment and it seemed as if Lucifer had become genuinely interested in the other's answer. "I don't trade such stones," he finally replied, but before the disappointed ' _I knew that already'_ -look could fully settle down on Lucifer's face, he went on, "But I know that Madam Ripper has some." He raised his outstretched arm to show him the direction.

Lucifer followed the finger pointing to a place hidden behind a large crowd of people, who were running errands and doing their daily chores. He stared at the spot, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. "What do you mean?" he questioned suspiciously when he turned his head back.

The question was so low that the other man only understood the first word, but he still knew what the rest could mean. "Just go straight ahead," he replied with a friendly nod, "you can't miss her shop."

Lucifer turned his head back and stared a moment longer towards the direction, then he began to walk ahead, doing what he was told; his mind too feeble to think whether this was just a trick or some divine clue. "Tell her I sent you," he heard him call after him, but he didn't care to turn back again as his feet were already taking him forward.

The dealer grinned smugly, knowing that whenever he sent someone over to 'Madam Ripper' he'd get a fair share of the money she earned. He turned around, the broad grin still on his lips when he spotted his next potential customer. "Hello, gorgeous, I bet you love diamonds!" He couldn't even open his jacket wide enough to show them when a right hook landed right on his cheek, sending him roughly to the ground.

/-/

Lucifer stopped in front of the shop that showed up, but highly doubted that the man had meant that bakery. For a moment, he considered going in the opposite direction, but then he thought: What did he have to lose? Although the lines for the Carnelian rather sounded like a battlefield, with bloodstained and torn off body parts lying around, it had already taken him a couple of hours to search through shop after shop, and somehow his stomach began to remind him that he hadn't eaten yet. So he entered the place.

"Hello, Sir, what can I do for you?" A young woman greeted him friendly. Her smile was as bright as the shop's decoration and her lips sparkled in the same colour as the pink toppings of all these cakes and pastries, making her look like she was part of the decoration.

Lucifer would have lasciviously licked his own lips and imagined where on his body these full and inviting folds would have come in very handy hadn't his mind been completely occupied by his quest. "Are you Madam Ripper?" he asked right away, still doubting he really was in the right place.

The friendly smile on the woman's face changed a bit to that of a knowing one and her head slightly nodded the answer. "What do you need?"

Despite the fact that he was a little surprised at why this pretty lady had such a nasty name, he went on to say, "You don't happen to have a gem called Carnelian?" He winced innerly and briefly narrowed his eyes at the hopelessness echoing in his voice, but quickly composed himself to not further dwell on his mood.

The woman's smile instantly dropped and made room for a doubtful frown. "You're Lucifer," she replied after giving him a quick once over.

He didn't know whether it was a question or a statement, but the fact that she knew his name brought a light smile to his face. "Well, yes, of course!" he answered, but then he reminded himself that he was right in between an impending celestial war and the smile was quickly replaced by a suspicious frown. "How do you know?" he questioned and his eyes narrowed further to small slits as he tilted his head to take a second look around the shop before he turned his attention back to her, waiting for an attack at any moment...

The woman's mood dropped further. "Damn!" she uttered disappointed. "I thought you'd be… more... scary," she eventually replied, ignoring his baffled face with the low appalled huff, and turned around. "Follow me!" she ordered without another look at him, her finger curled as if she tried to lure him away. "Uriel already told me you were coming."

An instant, sharp sting pierced his chest at the sound of this name, inflicting another, greater load of surprise and suspicion as to why this woman knew of his brother? Then a more important question crossed his mind: Why did Uriel tell her about him? Wanting to find out the answers to his questions, he followed her into a back room without hesitation and was immediately stunned at the site presented to him: He found himself looking at a scenery the lines for the gemstone could have been written for, if it hadn't been in a bakery. There were liquids that looked like blood standing filled up in bottles on a counter on the left side. In the middle was a huge table, on which some things looked like cakes, but others rather like cut open organs or torn out entrails; on the other side were several nice little boxes, these 'organs' were neatly stowed away in.

He watched her with caution as she walked up to a small cabinet, retrieved a little box from it, and then turned back around to him, a smirk stretching her lips when she saw his bewildered face.

"What? You really thought Ripper was my real name?" She saw his head go up and down to answer her and couldn't suppress the chuckle leaving her throat. "Nope! That's just what they call me for my speciality. Friends call me Nancy, by the way," she added after a brief pause and watched him for a moment as he stood there with his mouth slightly open in astonishment while his eyes followed her hand pointing to the stuff behind her on the table. "Yes, it's really just cake, even if it doesn't look like it," she answered his unspoken question. "I'm a baker's artist, if you like to call it that," she added, grinning, as she held out the little box to him.

Lucifer looked down at her outstretched hand, then at her, and then back down, not quite knowing what to do now.

"Go on, take it," she encouraged him and her hand shook a little when she straightened her elbow.

Slowly Lucifer reached for the box, took it in his hand and carefully opened it with the other. Inside was a Carnelian half the size of his palm and its colour as red as the liquid representing the blood that was standing in the back. There were delicate veins running through it, making it look as if he was holding something that had once been alive. He moved the box a little to get a better view, and the gem sparkled as it captured the light from the ceiling, making the dark-red spots almost appear black inside, as if they were the entrance to a deep and dark cave. A smile flashed over his face, which he quickly bit back with a chuckle. "How?" was all he could voice before the words were lost in translation from his brain to his tongue.

"He was here," Nancy began to explain, "your brother, I mean." Thinking back at the moment she'd met him, a warm smile settled down on her lips, stretching them across half of her cheeks. "He was the one who told me to pursue my dream and create this special kind of bakery. He even told me that I would win many customers and become quite known for it. Don't know how he knew that, maybe he could see into the future," she guessed and shrugged her shoulders. "After all, he was right about you showing up in the store as well."

Uriel had never been very fond of humans. He only saw them as a pastime with which their dad had to distract himself from his true family. ' _Why then_ _did he even bother to go to this young woman and help her accomplish her dream?'_ Lucifer wondered. This was so atypical of him! But then again, he thought, this whole notebook of him was atypical. Maybe he'd gone out of his way! But for what reason? "He couldn't predict the future," Lucifer corrected her before the pause became too obvious. "He was just… really good at calculating the odds," he added further, his mind already drifting off, bringing him back to the last moment between them where Uriel had said he could do so, and that memory painted a painful smile on his lips. "Guess you could call it that," it softly left his lips as he silently admitted the truth. Lucifer had never listened to him. Not when they were still children and not when he told him to hand over mum. Was this all Uriel's last attempt to make him listen? Lucifer also remembered the moment he was down in hell, tortured by his very own Uriel-punishment, who had also reminded him that the 'piece was here', and he wondered what else his brother had known about him, about his plans, and about Chloe. He sighed and searched with his eyes for an invisible spot on the ground while he collected his thoughts. "To be honest, he left me notes of where to find this jewel,… well, he didn't use an address," he quickly clarified, "he described its whereabouts quite..." Lucifer halted briefly as he looked for a fitting word. "Graphically," he eventually used. "At least in your case," he ended, and the lines of the whereabouts of the other gems began to form before his inner eye. Some were quite funny and he suppressed a small chuckle. Then suddenly the lines where torn in two and in the middle appeared the five prophecies his brother had also written down, weighing on Lucifer's heart again and reminding him once more of the agony of his current situation. "All this wouldn't be so problematic if he'd left me actual clues instead of some enigmatic hints," he spat quietly and gritted his teeth to suppress the new rage that rose in him. "Otherwise I wouldn't have looked through half of the butcheries and slaughterhouses of L.A.," he quipped to make it sound nonchalant, but the expression on his face revealed the betrayal he felt by his brother.

"Yeah, he could speak in riddles if he wanted," Nancy jokingly confirmed in an attempt to brighten the mood that had suddenly dropped to the ground like the temperature would do through a block of ice. "Especially when he talked about you," she added, and the immediate shooting up of Lucifer's head, combined with wide, piercing eyes, made her realise that this was something he hadn't known before.

"You two talked?" he asked, completely baffled. "What did he say?" it shot out of him and he swallowed and took a small step back to signal her that he hadn't meant it to sound so harshly.

"Not much, actually," she replied with a warm smile and shrugged a little while she remembered. "He came over maybe three or four times. He didn't have much time, but he wanted to tell me about you... and make sure I remember correctly what he told me to tell you."

' _That was it!'_ it screamed in his head, ' _the real reason why he'd written all these assumptions and vague descriptions into the notebook. To lead_ _me_ _to her! Not without having a final laugh at_ _my_ _expense, of course!'_ , it went further through his head. Lucifer swallowed and made himself ready for whatever important event his brother had predicted. Nodding to her, he signalled that he was eager to know, hoping that this might be the solution to end all this in his favour.

"Well…," she began, but stopped again to remind him, "Those were his words, not mine."

"Yes, yes, I understood that. Tell them!" he urged her, completely ignoring her uneasiness.

Nancy nodded, took a deep breath, and then started again. "'Damn you, brother! Can't you listen to me just this once?'" She cleared her throat and, visibly uncomfortable, she went on, "'Go back to hell and take mom with you. Don't come home. Never! And don't, under any circumstances, let mom come home or we all will die.'" She swallowed, and nodded again to signal she was done.

"That's it?" Lucifer asked sceptically. That was nothing! Was this all just a joke? Slowly disappointment spread through him, mixed with frustration, and he clenched his fists and stifled the growl that rolled up his throat.

"Oh yeah!" It suddenly shot out of her mouth as she remembered the last part. "He also said, 'Burn the book if you know what's good for you.'"

With her words, the spark of hope that had flared up within him at her interjection was beaten up by the other emotions, but it still didn't give up and so Lucifer waited a little longer, counting on her remembering something more. Something that would help him to know how to save Chloe and continue his plans. But when she remained standing there, all silent, that little hope finally died and the anger took over the throne inside his heart. "That won't help at all!" he growled frustratedly.

Nancy nodded sympathetically. She felt awkward about what she had to tell him and hoped he wouldn't take out his anger on her. "I was shocked as well when I heard him say those words," it blurted out of her and like a gate opened to the floods, she rambled on, "Well, he described you differently, more angry, not so … normal … and I actually thought you would freak out to hear that he doesn't want anything to do with you any more. But you don't seem angry at all," it suddenly struck her, "rather disappointed… and… hurt," she commented in a low voice as she looked at him closely.

Bloody emotions! ' _C_ _an_ _everyone read_ _me_ _like an open book_ _now_ _?_ ' he silently screamed to heaven. He swallowed the rage, relieved that at least he had himself under control. Then he shook his head and turned away. Getting told how he felt, especially by a stranger, was something he definitely didn't need right now. "Thanks for the stone, anyway," he mumbled and walked back to the front of the shop. Before he left, however, he slightly turned his head back to her and asked without looking her in the eyes, "You don't happen to know where to find the others?"

Nancy felt extremely bad for him. She could clearly see how crushed he was. Apologetically, she shook her head and felt some tears welling up in her eyes. She quickly bit them back down and answered, "He just gave me this one. He said that this was the only one you wouldn't find here and if you don't have all, you would bring havoc. Whatever that means." Sighing, she added, "And that he doesn't want to come down and clean up your mess again."

A hate-filled chuckle left Lucifer's lips before he could hold it back. ' _Damn you, brother!_ ' he swore under his breath. Uriel didn't want to help him at all, it was clear to him now. He only wanted to make sure he would go back to hell with mum. That's why he'd given him the prophecies. To show him that no matter what he did or tried, he wouldn't be able to save the Detective! Callus words, wrapped up in nice little rhymes to give him the illusion he had the tiniest chance of changing them! His heart broke even further and he was about to collapse and wallow in self-pity when suddenly the anger in him took over and ignited a flame of hope. ' _No, brother!_ ' it suddenly shot through his head. These words weren't final! He, Lucifer, had saved the Detective once by doing something unpredictable to Uriel, and he would do it again! The future wasn't written down yet! There still was a chance!

Filled with a new wave of confidence, he nodded his goodbye to Nancy and stepped out of the shop, his mind fully occupied with ways of how to save her: One idea could be to tell his mother about the plan, find the gemstones together and then drag her down to hell before the gate to heaven would open up. But he didn't have his wings any longer. Going back to hell would be final. And now that he'd met Chloe… Yes, keeping her safe was his top priority, but if he had the slightest bit of chance to remain here on earth with her, he would take it. The time with her, no matter how short it may be, was better than an eternity without her. An exhausted sigh escaped him. ' _Damn_ _you,_ _dad!_ ' he thought and sighed again. Why did he have to make her? Why did he have to show him how it would feel to… Lucifer halted himself abruptly, and pushed the thought to the back of his head. No! He wouldn't admit it! He wouldn't bring her in danger! Taking note of his surroundings, he recognised that his feet had already started to carry him in one direction of the street, and he halted and looked around. Realising that it was the wrong direction, he turned and walk back.

That's when he saw him! At the far end of the street. Looking right at him. "You!" he mumbled, his teeth gritted, his fists clenched, and he started to run towards the man who startled with fright and then ran sideways into a back alley.

"You're not getting away this time!" Lucifer yelled as he chased after him through narrow streets, jumping over old piles of trash. Finally, the man had fled into a deadlock. Lucifer reared up once more as he watched the man frantically trying to open a locked door. "It's time to pay for what you did to her!" he barked gravely and slowly moved closer.

"What are you talking about?" the man cried, his voice quivering with fear. He saw Lucifer's eyes flare up with a bright red colour, almost looking as if fire burned within him. "Leave me alone," he screamed in horror, grabbing some rubble from the ground and throwing it at him.

Lucifer dodged the rubble with ease and grinned evilly. "Guess my mum didn't tell you that part about me, huh," he quipped as he walked over to the man, who stumbled and fell to the ground. He watched him some more to savour this elongated agony, something he really missed from hell; when the culprits knew they were finished and still tried to escape their fate. Like the man now, trying to get up again, while Lucifer kicked against his legs. But with only one functioning arm, it was almost impossible. Lucifer bent down, grabbed the man by the neck, pulling him close, and mumbled in a deathly dark voice, "You shouldn't have hurt her!"

"Who are you talking 'bout?" The man cried. His body began to tremble when Lucifer let go of him again, sweat running across his forehead, down his cheeks and dripping onto his clothes.

"You already forgot?" Lucifer snarled and the anger built up inside of him, determined to give him a quick reminder. He moved his right foot back and then with all force that was in him, he kicked in the other's stomach, making the man cry out in pain. "Remember now?" He yelled as he repeated the kick.

The man tried to block the blow with his already hurt arm, only to get hit in the elbow. He yelled out again and a loud crack was heard as the bone broke at the impact.

Lucifer bent down again, grabbing the man by his neck, pulling him up and watching the agonising pain grimacing his face. "You'll never hurt her again!" he told him with a deep, threatening voice and then pushed him back, his head hitting the hard ground.

"I didn't mean to hurt your girl," the man cried out in a hopeless try to make him go easy on him, his arm in a sling tightly pressed against his chest while with his free hand he reached to the back of his head, trying to ward off the second hit on the ground as Lucifer pulled him up and then rammed him back down again.

"So, now you remember?" he screamed, the confession only triggering the rage within him to run free. He reared up and continued to kick the man in the side of his body with his foot. "Tell mum to leave her alone!" He kicked some more, bending down again to punch him in the face and then yelled, "Leave us alone!"

He wanted to strike out again to set some more blows to the man's head, when suddenly he was being pulled backwards.

"I think he understands now!" Maze commented dryly while she dragged him further away.

Lucifer fought her off as good as he could. Eventually, he freed himself and tried to lunge back at the man, but it was too late, the man had used the distraction to get up and flee. "You know nothing about that! Leave me alone!" Lucifer yelled in frustration and tried to run after him, but this time as well, Maze got hold of him and thwarted his plan.

"I know nothing?" Maze repeated with a tad of mockery, "One good hit to his head and you're gonna kill this prick! You wanna go down for such a stupid thing?" she yelled back at him, her own rage building up about how he could lose his temper over someone so insignificant. She'd been following him and waited, watching as he started kicking and punching this man, and couldn't believe that he didn't, even once, let loose this anger on the real culprit.

"He hurt Chloe!" Lucifer yelled at her, breaking away from her with one final pull. Turning around, he barked, "You should've helped _me_ instead of that monster!"

"He isn't the one you should be after!" Maze yelled back at the top of her voice. "Or have you already forgotten who really hurt Chloe?" she added, this time in a normal tone. Huffing, she folded her arms in front of her chest, narrowing her eyes at him, as she went on, "How can you beat this man almost to death, while you're doing nothing about the true monster out there?"

Lucifer swallowed, perplexed. "You know?" he wondered, trying to make sure she really talked about who he thought she was.

"What? That there's a twin of this asshole?" she hissed, huffing out some air. "Yeah, Chloe told me just now. Something you apparently knew for a couple of days by now! And you? You choose to do nothing about it!" she blared. Taking a second to get herself back in order, she muttered, "And you claim to love her!"

"I didn't..." he yelled on impulse, but quickly contained himself and brushed off his anger. "… say anything about love," he completed in a normal voice that was accompanied by a grumble. "And most of all, I don't choose to do nothing," he continued, hoping that the other part was thereby off the table. "I promised the Detective," he declared in self defence. Her words had hit right the mark. He fully agreed with her, and he felt terrible for just idly standing by. But no matter how much he wanted to punish those who were responsible for Chloe's pain, it wasn't his decision to make. She needed to understand that.

Maze huffed, and this time it was in disdain. "The old Lucifer would have-"

"There is no old me anymore," he countered harshly, cutting her off. "I promised Chloe we will hunt that scumbag together. So, this is exactly what I'm going to do. Not alone. But with her! _This_ is something _she_ needs! And I'm more than willing to give it to her."

"Is this also the reason you didn't want to wake her?" she inquired and now she sounded genuinely curious about his answer. "And the reason you went into who knows how many butcher's shops today?" she added, suspicion welling up.

"Where you following me?" Lucifer counter-questioned warily and once more narrowed his eyes at her. When he didn't get an answer from her, he briefly explained, "This was something private I had to do!"

"What? You're planning a barbecue or something?" The mockery in her tone was almost graspable and the grin on her face grew. One could assume, that she was ecstatic by the thought, if they hadn't noticed that her eyes were still painted in the same hate-filled darkness from before.

Lucifer couldn't be tricked by her displayed lightness. He knew her too well for that. She still was on the verge of lunging forward and attempting to break his neck. She wouldn't succeed, though. He was much too strong for her. But he also didn't want to widen the rift that had started to build up between them, one in which he wasn't so innocent of its formation. He still needed her. And he needed her by his side. Taking a step back, he took a deep breath to get himself back under control and then replied, brusquely shrugging it off, "That's none of your business, Mazikeen."

How she hated it when he used her full name; as if she still was his minion and he wanted to put her in place or reprimand her for some wrong-doing. But that was long gone. "Yeah, you letting your anger out on anyone is none of my business!" she spat viciously, adding an even more scornful, "Until you call me to clean up your mess!"

"Just so you know, this man had kicked Chloe, because she was after him for breaking into my apartment and trying to steal my book!"

He still wondered where this sudden urge to justify his actions towards her had come from, that he completely missed what he'd just revealed to her and only got reminded about his faux pas when Maze asked with wary interest, "What book?" while her mind already brought her back to the moment she'd secretly watched him locking something in the safe at LUX, wondering if it had been that of which he spoke.

Silently cursing at himself for not having guarded his mouth properly, Lucifer only looked at her with narrowed eyes, slightly shaking his head in refusal. He wouldn't disclose to her any more of what she wasn't supposed to know.

"Oh, that's also none of my business now?" Maze retorted sardonically. Still, no words came from him and she got really angry. "I don't care, I'm gonna tell Decker. You're her problem, not mine!"

"Don't you dare mentioning anything of this to her!" he warned her gravely and stepped very close, towering over her.

"Or what?" Maze provoked him, her arms folded in front of her chest.

Lucifer growled at her in anger. But he quickly realised that she wasn't intimidated by him in the slightest. And to tell the truth, he didn't have anything to threaten her with. He could do nothing than to glare at her one more time and then, without another word, he left.

Maze watched him disappear behind the corner, commenting his departure with a disgruntled huff. She turned her head back to the spot where Lucifer had been punching that man, scanning it for any hints of celestial doing just like she was used to. On the ground, she spotted a little plastic card and bent down to pick it up. Giving it a closer look, she recognised it to be a key-card for one of the cheap motels nearby, and decided that it was time for her to do some research on her own.

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The sun had already gone down when Maze arrived at the house again. Entering, she stated loudly with a voice dripping with indifference, "Don't know what you're worried about." She closed the door and tossed her keys on the counter. Then she'd lowered the backpack that was hanging over one of her shoulders, slightly hiding it behind her without making it appear obvious.

Chloe looked up from the couch she'd been sitting on the whole time, anxiously awaiting the news, and turned to her, full of concern, "Is he alright?"

"Yeah," she assured her with a dismissive wave of her hand. She turned around, ready to leave, but then stopped as if she'd forgotten something, turned back to her and then added nonchalantly, "Well, if you call him beating up a guy 'alright'." She squinted her eyes when she spotted the instant shock followed by a deep, worried frown on the Detective's forehead.

"He did what?" Chloe asked, baffled, and gaped at her. "When? Who?" she inquired and sprang up from the couch, adding, "Tell from the start!"

Maze shrugged her shoulders again. She decided that it was best not to tell her what exactly Lucifer did while she'd observed him. She still didn't fully understand what he was up to, she only came more and more to the conclusion that it must be something big, when he's that uptight. Otherwise she would have been the first one to know… well the second, since Decker existed. Therefore, she started shortly before the incident. "He saw someone and chased him into an alley. When he got hold of him, he mumbled something about 'payback for daring to hurt you' and then he started beating him up. The other guy tried to defend himself, but since one of his arms was obviously broken, this was rather useless. I interfered, figured it wouldn't be that good if he killed that guy." Pausing briefly, she added, "You owe me for that, by the way." She saw her nod, her eyes still widely open, and Maze continued, "Well, I pulled Lucifer back. The guy got up and ran away. Lucifer only yelled at me for letting this 'prick' get away, and then moved into the other direction, back to his car." She ended, deciding again, that Chloe didn't need to know about what else they had talked about. And she also decided, that, at least for now, Chloe didn't need to know what she'd found in that guy's motel room.

"So he seemed… fine?" Chloe heard herself ask and silently rebuked herself for her poor choice of words. Beating someone up was anything but 'fine', and if it really was that man who'd stalked Candy, then she had to have another serious conversation with him about how to appropriately handle suspects, but at least, he still was in L.A. and he wasn't after the twin on his own. That was more than she could ask for, at least for the moment.

Maze rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Decker, I assure you. Lucifer's fine! Just give him some time. He'll get over it. Now, stop worrying your pretty head." It took her a moment to realise that Chloe wasn't listening to her any longer. She had that look on her face that told her, she'd long zoomed out of reality and was wrapped up in her own mind again. ' _Good for me_ ,' she thought, grabbed the backpack and went to her room, decisive to find out what was on the video recorder she'd found inside that room, together with several pictures of Lucifer, Candy and Chloe, and a USB stick.

Chloe realised only now that Maze had gone and that she completely missed what else her roommate had told her. She was so relieved that Lucifer still was there, that for a moment she didn't even mind. Nodding to herself, she turned back around and snuggled back on the couch, pulling the blanket tighter around herself. Her thoughts were with Lucifer again, and she sighed. His recent actions worried her. She tried to block that emotion out, telling herself that Lucifer would call if he wanted to speak to her, but then her gaze fell on the phone that lay on the coffee table and she couldn't help herself and grabbed it, speed-dialling his number once again. This time, the phone rang only twice before it stopped and the disconnect sign showed up. She instantly knew that he'd actively declined the call, and figured he truly didn't want to speak with her. This only added up to the lonely feeling that spread out inside of her and the inner wish to be close to him increased. And she hated herself for that; for becoming so depended on him again, so… vulnerable.

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Lucifer looked at Chloe's name on the display of his phone that weighed unusually heavy in his hand. The vibration its buzzing had caused, was still vividly felt by the cells of his fingers while his eyes were fixed on the device as if it had cast a spell on him after coming to life. A cool breeze blew across his neck, bringing him out of his trance and reminding him that he stood on his balcony.

He sighed.

When it had started to buzz, he was startled for a second and at once her voice began to speak in his mind, scolding him for the things he'd done today. Maze had most probably told her already, and for a moment, he considered to call her back, to tell her that everything was alright and she shouldn't worry, but he couldn't. In his eyes, this was a lie. Nothing would ever be alright again. Especially now that he knew that not only did he cause her suffering by not being there to protect her, but that it was actually his fault this whole attack had happened to her. How could he talk to her? How could he ever dare to look her in the eyes, now that he knew?

He raised his hand, holding his cigarette to his lips, and took a drag, exhaling the smoke from his lungs with a deep sigh while he put the phone in his trousers' pocket. He placed his arm on the railing, slightly bending forward and supporting his weight, and stared at the sight beneath. He couldn't glance up at the sky above. He felt his dad's all-knowing presence looking down at him, reprimanding him for what he'd done. Or was it just his bad consciousness?

He took a last drag and then flicked the butt away, watching it fall down until all he could make out in the dark night was the glimmer that slowly faded and eventually disappeared completely. He silently said farewell to this old habit of his, as he swore himself that this one was his last, once and for all. Sighing again, he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with fresh air and throwing out the last remains of this toxic fume. He closed his eyes, his mind instantly going back to Las Vegas, and he wished he'd never found that book in the first place.

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Sleep didn't find her that night. She was tossing and turning in bed, and she wished she could be trapped in the lift again with Lucifer at her side, holding her close and watching her as she nestles her head in the crook of his neck to find some rest. This feeling, this yearning for his touch blocked out everything else until soft rays of light made their way through the little gap beneath her curtains, announcing the beginning of a new day, and she groaned in frustration. This thwarting was just like when he'd disappeared after she'd been poisoned by that maniac Carlisle, Chloe thought but then firmly shook her head, disagreeing with herself with a muttered "No!" She huffed the air from her lungs and tossed the blanket aside, her heart pounded loudly beneath her ribcage and the rapid breaths raised and lowered her chest in quick succession. 'No!' she told herself once again and pressed her eyes close. This time was way worse than back then! This time, he was right here but still out of reach.

Sighing deeply, she eventually decided that it was useless to keep on brooding about her partner and got up, going straight to the bathroom to cool off her head with a long shower.

It took seven seconds for her mind to drift off again as the water was pelting down on her. She shook her head forcefully when she caught herself, but the worries didn't want to leave her. It was as if they were plastered on the back of her head, and after ten minutes of useless trying, she turned off the water, stepped out and made herself ready to leave. Yesterday it worked perfectly to keep herself from thinking about her partner when Dan had scolded her. He could be of use now, too, she thought and went downstairs to get her keys.

On tiptoes.

To not alert Maze who'd locked herself in her room yesterday and hadn't made a noise yet. This way she could also find out if Dan had found something new and was willing to share with her. After all, this monster was still out there, and now that he knew they were on his heels, they couldn't lose any more time.

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She still was suspended. So, when she entered the police station, she kept a low profile to not be seen by any colleagues who might tell her boss. Not that there were many, she recognised, when she headed down the stairs. The precinct looked almost deserted. Only some officers here and there were present, and Dan, whom she spotted standing in the break room, preparing a coffee. Still, she didn't want to alert anyone by simply walking straight over and so she took a circuit with her head covered and soft-footedly until she was finally in the room and then asked in a hushed voice, "Did you find out anything new in the area, yesterday?"

The sudden question, whispered directly next to his ear, startled Dan to the core. He'd almost dropped his coffee as his body jerked, spilling the top of the freshly brewed drink over his hand. He hissed and quickly shook off the liquid, blowing some air on the lightly burnt skin before he dried off the rest on the side of his trousers. "Don't you ever sneak up on me like that!" he then grumbled and turned his head to give her a dark glare. "What do you want here, anyway?" he asked her with a warning tone and gripped her by the arm, pulling her further into the room, while he suspiciously looked around the area for any noisy colleagues.

"Like I just said, I want to know if you found anything new yesterday?" Chloe repeated in a low voice.

Dan sighed audibly, "Look, Chloe, you're not even supposed to be here. You really think, I'm gonna tell you what we found? After you went for him alone?"

Chloe narrowed her eyes at him, but quickly reminded herself, that she deserved this, and moreover, had come here for exactly this type of reaction. She bit the grumble back down, and replied in a soothing manner, "Please?"

"Alright," he gave in, way too fast for his liking, but since he was at it, he went on, "If you really need to know, we haven't found anything new. Only that this… twin, was definitely there, and he must have been watching you. His fingerprints were on the power switch. We are now certain that he was the one who had trapped you there." Pausing a moment to put more meaning to his following words, he continued with a stern look, "You should be really glad that he'd done only that! He could have killed you. Or worse."

"I know, Dan. I know I screwed this up," she interposed, hanging her head.

"You did more than just screw up, Chloe!" he reproached her earnestly, "This man knows now that we're after him. We don't know how he will act now. Will he be extra careful, even flee the country, or will he do something completely unexpected? I'm used to Lucifer making rash decisions, but that you went against everything we've learned in the academy, Chloe..."

"I wanted to get him off the streets!" she cut him off, barely able to hold herself back. "To get justice," she added through gritted teeth.

"You wanted revenge! Nothing else!" he countered coldly.

"No, Dan! I didn't do it to get revenge!" she objected, but the words tasted sour on her tongue. Deep inside of her, she had to agree with him, that a part of her had wanted exactly that. She hastily shook her head to suppress that thought, and added, more to hear it herself than for him, "I'm still a Detective! I want him to never hurt anyone else again! He is dangerous!"

"And that's why you should have called me the minute you found out he existed! But the fact that you didn't do it, but instead went after him yourself speaks volumes. And not in your favours!" This situation reminded him of the time right after the Palmetto case. Back then, it was Chloe who gave him reproach after reproach for what he'd done, giving him a hard time for way too long. But this way he'd understood how much he'd actually had risked. In his mind, he had all the right to give her one now. Still, it felt wrong. He heaved a heavy sigh. There was so much for her on the line. Thinking of all the consequences, he couldn't help his thoughts becoming alive and he mumbled, "When he gets another victim, this will be your fault."

"Don't you think I already know that?" Chloe spat at the reminder, glaring at him in hurt and anger, but also felt the guilt back within herself.

He hadn't wanted to hurt her! He could understand her actions to the fullest. Heck, he'd done the same! But he didn't want her to suffer any more than she already did... and losing her job would be another major part. "Look, I'm just trying to protect you. He's dangerous. You can't protect yourself. And when he's after you, you're in danger. In great danger. And anyone who's near you as well." The words he'd tried to calm her with, came out in the completely wrong way and he cringed at the look on her face.

"So that's the reason you didn't want _my_ daughter to stay with me, yesterday!" she accused him, and her eyes glared in a new shade of darkness. Right now, she doubted it had been the right decision to come here, even though she needed the information and the rebuke as well, but they also stirred the anger within her, anger that quickly turned into rage and she had to use all her strength and self-control to keep that down and prevent herself from exploding in the middle of the room.

A moment went by without either of them speaking a word. There were plenty of them inside Chloe's head, but nothing she wanted to voice, knowing with certainty that she would only regret them later. Dan, on the other hand, didn't dare to say anything. He not only feared he would make it worse with the wrong response, right now, she also looked as if she was shortly before battering him to death. The darkness in her eyes that he saw clearly just by peering at her, would have even clouded the sun. Knowing out of experience that with the right choice of words it was possible to get her emotions back on track, at least that's what Linda had always managed, he rummaged in his brain for some appeasing phrases. But nothing wanted to jump on his tongue, and the stares he got from her only made it more uncomfortable the longer this moment lasted. Then, when the pressure of this situation went too high, he decided to try his luck with the next best thing that had just popped up in his head. He was about to raise his voice, when they were suddenly interrupted by Ella, unknowingly saving him from what otherwise would have become the worst regret of his life.

"The photos from the roll-film are done," she informed them in a hushed voice.

"Roll-film?" Chloe repeated, puzzled but grateful for the distraction, and she fully turned her attention to the technician.

Dan, who had looked at Ella as she stated the information, turned his head back to his ex-wife. Already knowing that she wouldn't deign to look at him now, he was a little more at ease and disclosed in a whisper, "We found it up there."

' _So much_ _for_ _'we hadn't found anything!'_ Chloe thought but bit her tongue to not say it aloud. Fortunately, Ella once again provided her with a reason to not make conversation with Dan.

"We had to get someone from the old school to help us develop it," she added, unaware of the icy atmosphere between them.

Already knowing that Chloe would insist on seeing them as well and as a peace offer, Dan turned to Ella and suggested, "Could you bring them to us?"

With a quick nod, Ella affirmed and went to get them.

"Who still uses roll-film?" Chloe wondered in a hushed voice and only now, she had herself under control again so far that she could take a brief glance at him again.

"They did," Dan only replied and shrugged his shoulders.

It didn't take long for Ella to return with the photos and after she'd handed them over to Dan, he turned to Chloe and together they looked through them.

They both gaped in surprise when they mainly found Chloe on them, from the time after she'd been discharged from the hospital until when Lucifer was already back.

"He is watching you!" Dan stated the obvious.

Chloe narrowed her eyes, feeling furious at the new insight and that, once again, she didn't even realise the danger she'd been in.

"That's it, you're getting police protection!" he went on, shaking his head as to say, he won't accept backtalk. "I'm driving you home, and you're gonna stay there until we've found that prick."

"He still knows where I live!" Chloe flatly pointed out and demonstratively held up a picture of her sitting on the couch, that was taken from outside the window, to remind him.

Dan swallowed and inhaled sharply to give himself some time to think. Then he sighed audibly and replied, "Alright, you stay here. I'm gonna call Maze to get Trixie from school and then the both of you are coming home with me."

"No, Dan!" Chloe contradicted right away, forcing herself to keep her voice low, she added, "Then he'll know that we know. This is our advantage. We can't give that away."

"Geez, Chloe, this lunatic is on your heels! I'm not leaving you out there unprotected!" he hissed and practically ripped the photos from out of her hands.

That she managed to stay so calm in that moment was something beyond her understanding; it almost felt as if she didn't have the strength to fight any longer, or the patience. "I'm not! He already knows that I spend my time either at the precinct or with Lucifer chasing after him," she explained in a relatively relaxed tone.

"I won't-," Dan began to interrupt her, but Chloe simply raised her finger, stopping him right then and there.

"Without the chasing," she went on with the same smooth voice she'd use when talking to dependants, still making clear, "But I'm _not_ blowing this cover!"

"And what are you gonna do now?" he grumbled, being at his wits' end, and already saw himself standing at her funeral in front of his inner eye.

"What I normally do," she answered indifferently, shrugging. With a slight smirk around the corners of her lips that she wasn't able to suppress, she elucidated further as her ex gave her a puzzled look, "I'll go to Lucifer."

He wanted to burst right there in the precinct, yelling at her if she was out of her mind. She wanted to stay at that very place this man had attacked her? And she still demanded to be treated as a sane person? But the anger inside of him vanished as quickly as it had welled up at the realisation that she hadn't said 'LUX', she said 'Lucifer', and with him, he knew, she'd be safe. "Alright," he eventually agreed. "But you'll stay with him all the time and you call me as soon as you're there, OK?"

"Yeah, fine," Chloe complied, already looking forward to having this excuse to show up at Lucifer's doorsteps. When the thought entered her consciousness, her heart sank in her chest. Since when did she need an excuse to see her partner?

Dan accompanied her out of the police station and when Chloe was finally in her car by herself, she took her phone out to call Lucifer and inform him, but, unsurprisingly, he didn't pick up. Filled with frustration, she hit the steering wheel. "Damn it, Lucifer!" she hissed, feeling, once again, left alone by him.

Teeth-gnashingly, she started the car and drove into the direction of LUX. Even if he wasn't there, through the newly installed security system, she'd be safe up there. At least for the moment.

/-/

Worry crept up on her the closer she came to his penthouse. What if he didn't just ignore her? What if he couldn't answer her phone because he was in danger, maybe even hurt by Galant's brother? She parked the car next to the building and firmly shook her head to get rid of that thought. This was too unrealistic! She'd seen Lucifer's strength. No one was able to overpower him, except for Maze, she concluded and stepped through the door, heading for the elevator, whose doors opened as soon as she pressed the button. Still, the queasy feeling didn't want to leave her. It even increased, the higher the elevator went. Then, when the number for his apartment finally appeared, she swore her heart stopped beating until the doors slid open and she stepped into the living area.

Soft tunes of an unknown melody reached her ear even before she spotted him at the piano, but only at the sight of him, she exhaled a silent breath of relief she didn't know she'd been holding. Unintentionally the corners of her lips began to curl upwards. She pressed them together as she took a step towards him, and was about to say something silly to match her facial expression in case he looked up, when she recognised his body starting to tense. She froze in her track, and the smile hastily fled her face, leaving it in worry and confusion as she quickly recognised: This small yet immense reaction of him was completely because of her.

But why?

An angry, almost scornful huff left his lips, announcing to her right away that he would answer this unspoken question, right before his low but powerful voice broke the silence, "Do you still not understand it? I don't want to talk to you, Detective!"

The way he pronounced her title sent shivers down her spine and she balled her fists to keep herself from rubbing her hands up and down her arms to get some warmth back into her body. She didn't move a single muscle. Because if she would, she hadn't been able to keep up her stark posture and he would have seen how much these words of him had actually hurt her.

Now that Galant's twin was after her, she knew she could tell him that she'd come to him because here was the only safe place for her to be, and she also knew, his behaviour would instantly change. He would show caring and protection, and she would never get to know the real reason for this peculiar rejection of her. It was definitely nothing she'd done, she was certain. So, what had caused his change in behaviour?

"Since you still don't seem to understand," Lucifer suddenly started, interrupting her inner monologue, and stopped his play. His fingers were too shaky to properly hit the keys any longer, and he concentrated all his strength on what he was about to say. "I don't want you here! Leave me alone! Now! And don't come back!" With every word, a piece of his heart broke off, falling into a black hole that had emerged within him, but he couldn't go back now. It was dangerous for her to be near him. She had to stay away. She had to be safe, by any means. A soft but confidently countered "No" welled up the anger inside of him, one he felt against himself, and he channelled it towards her when all of a sudden, he slammed the fall board shut and, standing up, sent the bench he was sitting on, several inches backwards. "I said: Go!" he roared so loudly, it echoed through the room like a roll of thunder, and he whirled around, facing her.

The look he gave her made her blood freeze in her veins. She was genuinely scared now, and under any other circumstances, she would have fled the apartment within an instant. But not now. She wanted to know the reason for this hostility, and she wouldn't back down, regardless of how frightening he appeared. "I'm not leaving!" she countered headstrong and narrowed her eyes at him to make clear she meant it. Tensing up every muscle she possessed, she made herself internally ready to fight as she saw his foot rise to approach her, but then his facial expression suddenly changed from a hateful to a simply grumpy one, and with a last snort into her direction he turned to his liquor shelf. She did a double take when she found it completely empty. Only a bottle of what seemed to be table water stood on the counter, and she watched him pouring its content into a glass before downing it in one go. Her mouth slightly gaped in disbelief when he refilled the glass and, with it in hand, went several steps to the further back of the room.

She must have mistaken, Chloe thought to herself. It couldn't be just water. It surely was vodka he'd just drank, she assured herself, but somehow it didn't sound very convincing. She hastily searched through her memories, trying to recall a time he'd drank something other than alcohol, but couldn't find anything. Her brows furrowed with worry and she asked, confused, "What's wrong with you?"

"Did my dear Detective stumble upon something she can't understand?" Lucifer quipped but the tone of his voice remained enraged.

Chloe stared at him, his completely stiff back, the arm that was hovering in mid-air not moving an inch, and she repeated her question, "What's-"

"I said leave!" he roared again, turned around and smashed the glass to the ground, sending it's pieces scattering across the floor.

Chloe jumped in fright and instinctively wrapped her arms around herself in protection. She needed a moment for the shock to subside so she could move her muscles again, and she watched him kneeling down and collecting the shards of glass with utter diligence. Tears welled up in her eyes and before she lost control of the rest of herself, she apologised, "I'm sorry. Whatever I must've done to you, I'm sorry, Lucifer." She quickly held her breath to suppress the sob that had piggybacked onto her words and kept it hidden in her throat. On shaky ground, she shifted her weight, about to lift her foot to turn around, but halted right in the middle of her doing when new words reached her ears.

"Please, leave Chloe. You're not safe here any longer," he whispered and hastily swallowed the tremble in his voice. "You're not safe with me," he added, not knowing that his last words would be the very reason she'd disobey him.

His words were soft and instantly soothed her heart, but also increased her confusion and concern for him. Taking a deep breath, Chloe halted the air, before she blew it out through her nose, making a soft sighing noise. For a brief moment, she closed her eyes, collected her thoughts and gathered her strength. Then she opened her eyes again, stared at her partner and replied calmly and steadily, "I'm not leaving you. Not before you tell me why you think that I am not safe with you." She watched him stop his doing and close his hand that still had all the shards encompassed.

Her first instinct was to jump forward and shout at him to be careful not to cut himself, but she contained herself when she heard him whisper something too low for her ear to understand, feeling that it was of utter importance. "What did you say?" she asked, taking a few small steps closer, but then quickly backed off when he suddenly screamed at her.

"It's my fault!" Lucifer panted heavily from the truth that had freed itself from his lungs. He had his sight firmly fixed to the ground beneath that was still covered in tiny pieces of broken glass, some of them were coated with small red drops, coming from his hands. He opened them both and placed them on the floor, not only to support his body that was prone and about to keel over, also to get as much sharp glass into his hands as possible, to make them bore into the flesh of his palms and numb out a bit of the pain coming from his heart.

"I don't understand you!" Chloe retorted, the despair she felt about his words and behaviour had turned her voice into a defiant riposte. "What the heck is your fault?"

"Leave!" he screamed in a last attempt to get her away from him before he would lose it all in this room. His body trembled from the tension he tried to contain and he didn't know how long he would be able to keep it back or what would happen if he lost control.

"I'm not leaving here!" Chloe shouted back, making it clear once and for all, and the worry kept shouting out of her, "I want to know what's going on with you! Now! So you better explain yourself and tell me what the hell you think you've done now!"

"Everything!" He screamed back, spurred on even more by the anger in her tone. Didn't she want to understand? "It's my fault that you got hurt and the closer you are to me the more you're in danger, so leave me alone!"

"What the hell is your problem?" it shot out of her before she could even register what she was saying, and thinking quickly, she sent the answer right after. "Do you mean the night in the elevator? Look, I know I've probably scared the hell out of you with my breakdown in there. Believe me, I didn't intend to do that. But I'm fine again now and if you can-"

"I don't mean _that_ night!" he cut her off, slowly getting frustrated at her reluctance to understand.

"Then which night do you mean?" she threw back at him, furious herself. She didn't understand it at all and feared that this, whatever it was so suddenly, would bring them so far apart from each other that there was no way back. She wouldn't be able to take this. Not again.

"The night you were-" he shouted but then suddenly halted as if an invisible power kept him from continuing, and he whispered as he forced the word out of his mouth, "raped!" He swallowed down the shock, and suddenly the words kept pouring out and he was unable to stop them, "I used the book to get back at my parents and it's punishing you. It's all my fault what's happened to you. I can't make it undone. I can't stop it. I wish I could. It's all my fault and that's why you have to stay away from me. It will get back at you and I can't let that happen. I'm dangerous to you," he ended loud and clear, adding a quiet plea, "I don't want you getting hurt any more."

Chloe couldn't understand a word he was saying and all she could do was staring blankly at him while silently recalling his words and trying to make any sense of them, but she couldn't. She was completely at a loss. How should she best respond now? She really wanted to know why he behaved like that, but what could she say or should she leave to avoid getting into more quarrels with him? It was overwhelming not to know. But, did she actually want that? A soft voice whispered in the back of her head. After all, fighting brought the two forward, in one way or another, she had to admit, and so she pushed aside her fears, folded her arms in front of her chest and repeated bluntly, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Didn't you listen to me?" he barked in frustration and balled his fists again. Not even realising the shards boring deeper into his hands as he clenched them together. "You got hurt because of me!" he shouted again, only to continue the rest in a hushed voice, "The lady warned me to use the book, but I didn't listen. I just wanted my revenge, and now you have the price to pay. And I can't take it back."

Chloe had walked some little steps forward to better hear him and waited for him to stop talking. It angered her. She knew she shouldn't but she couldn't push the thought away that again, he made everything about himself. "You really think that this man had attacked me, because of some stupid book of yours?" she asked, and this time she didn't even try to hide the scorn in her voice she had from this absurd idea.

"Yes!" he confirmed, determined. "I know you don't believe me. You don't want to believe, but it's true. That's why you're even more in danger the closer you are to me." He sighed, hoping whole-heartedly that she would listen and leave. "I'm dangerous to you, Chloe. I hurt you!"

"You didn't hurt me!" she yelled at him, objecting throughout. "You weren't the one who pinned me down on that bed! You weren't the one who forced himself inside of me! And you definitely weren't the one who beat me half to death and left me here to die!"

He vigorously shook his head in contradiction and declared again, "This all wouldn't have happened, if it weren't for me! Don't you get it? I'm responsible for your pain!"

"By reading a stupid book?" she countered and shook her head again. These words sounded even more lunatic when they came out of her.

"Exactly!"

The conviction with which he said that wrapped itself like a veil around her thoughts, preventing herself from holding onto her own logic. For a brief moment she was even ready to believe him, but luckily, she quickly banished this idea from her mind. Shaking her head firmly to get the remains of his words out of her, she was about to contradict him again, when suddenly he began talking again. And the tremble in his voice, the pain in his words, made her throat tie up.

"All I wanted was to get free from my parents. So I could stay here, with you. I would never have used the book if I'd known that it would harm you. I never intended to hurt you. I only wanted to protect you."

She barely understood the last words of him as they were swallowed by a low sob. She was shocked, confused and taken aback when further sobs followed. Was Lucifer… crying? She didn't know what to do at that moment. One foot instantly moved a step forward while the other remained glued to the spot she was currently standing on, matching the fight that had emerged inside of her between her head and her heart. She wanted to run to him, to wrap him in her arms and soothe his pain away, but at the same time, this sudden situation was so overwhelming that she wanted to yell at him to get a grip on himself; not because she was angry or frustrated. It was simply because the only time she'd seen him like that was when he'd tried to get himself killed by a sniper, to punish himself for something he'd refused to tell her. She didn't want to get reminded at that situation, when she felt completely helpless and the immense fear of losing him. And it hurt her to see him like that now: so vulnerable and in pain. It frightened her. And she wanted him to turn back to his old self, just so she could have it back, this sense of normality… and safety.

Eventually, her heart outweighed her fears and so she cautiously walked up to him. She stopped when she saw him gripping the shards of glass firmer the closer she came but decided to ignore it for the moment. When she was right above him, she knelt down and gently laid a hand on his back. The instant flinch he made at her touch startled her, but she kept her hand on his back and with an accompanied, hushed "come here", she moved with her other hand to the back of his head, gently pulling him close while running her fingers through his hair. Soon she felt his tensed-up muscles relax and she started to gently rub his back. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest, sending her blood rushing through her veins, and for a while that was all she could hear. She was nervous, insecure about what to do next, but because of this light touch that connected her with him, she slowly calmed down herself. Feeling the strength back in her bones, she raised her voice, just to assure herself, "You really think that Galant's twin had only attacked me because you read your book?"

"Yes!" he answered as loud as he could manage, but the word only came out in a trembling whisper. He knew he didn't deserve her caress right now, that he should stop her and make her leave so he could continue with punishing himself, but he was too weak, and her close presence felt too good. Right now, she was like a rock of pure strength. He felt it through the spot where his head leaned against her chest. He felt her heartbeat, and the vibrations oscillated through his body as if they were one and her heart gave his its rhythm. He couldn't help but lean further into her, even so the voice inside his head, his reason, forbade him to do so. That wasn't right! He had to protect her. And above all, he had to be punished for what he'd done to her. "You have to hate me!" his conscience demanded, and he hoped and feared as well, that this blissful moment was now over.

Her lips stretched into the beginning of a small smile and Chloe pulled him a little closer. She felt his head resting firmly against her chest and lowered her own head until her lips reached the hairline on the back of his neck. She placed a kiss there; so light that the hairs barely bent under the pressure, and then whispered softly, "Who I hate or not is my decision, not yours!" The audible exhale from him affirmed her that he'd listened. She waited a moment for his reply that promptly came in him tensing up again and convulsing with further silent sobs, and she continued caressing his back, running circles over it while her fingers ran through his hair, gently scratching his scalp. His body relaxed again, and she smiled, relieved, closed her eyes, and rested her chin on the back of his head as she felt his sobs subside and him finally calming down as well. She didn't want this closeness with him to end, still she knew she had to talk to him. She couldn't let him continue believing something so absurd just so she got advantage from it. Relishing the moment with him only for a bit longer, she eventually broke the silence, and voiced the question she had in mind since the beginning, "When did you read that book?"

"What?" Lucifer asked, perplexed, his mind not fully working yet. He tensed again, getting reminded again by his conscience that he had to be punished and not rewarded with her gentleness. He wanted to break free from her embrace but felt her grip on him tighten the moment he tried to pull back. He quickly gave in to her touch, willingly, and let his heart getting further soothed by her care.

Chloe moved her head closer to his ear, and she continued talking while her fingers buried themselves deeper into the soft curls of his hair. "That's why you wanted to know when it had happened to me, right? Back then, in the elevator," she added to remind him. "You wanted to know what day he'd attacked me."

He'd hoped she'd forgotten. She'd been so distraught and exhausted, he genuinely had expected that her consciousness hadn't written it down into her memory. That was one thing more to blame himself for! That she had to go through all this again just because of him. "Yes," he whispered in response, simply out of the need to answer her, to finally make her see that he was evil. At the reminder of that night, the bad feelings welled up inside of him again. They crawled into his heart like a thick film of oil, opened up the gates to the other emotions he'd locked inside of there and let them free. He hoped they would crush his heart and erase his feelings, and give him the strength to free himself from her embrace. Instead, a simple stroke of her hand over his back was enough to push them back, chased away by her soothing caresses. He narrowed his eyes tightly and pressed his lips firmly together to keep himself from voicing how heavenly her touches felt.

"So, if you're truly right," Chloe went on, determined to prove him wrong. "And this is a huge, theoretical if," she interposed to make it clear, "then everything that happened to me must have occurred after you've read the book. Am I correct?"

"Yes," he whispered again, more clearly this time. If he hadn't the power to resist her caress, she certainly did. And he was glad that she finally started to see sense, that she started to believe him. But he also knew that she, being the Detective, needed proof to believe. So when she prompted him again with her question "And when did you read that book?" he answered right out, "That Sunday night. The ninth minute of the ninth hour."

He felt her stopping her movements at once, and thought that finally she had understood; that now she had evidence that it was him who'd caused all this. She didn't say anything at first, and fear crept up on him that she was angry and would hate him as much as it was deserved. But then her one hand tightly gripped the fabric of his shirt while her other hand held onto his hair as if it was a lifeline, and he realised that his answer had only triggered some memories back into her mind.

"The sun had already gone down when I arrived at LUX," he heard her say in a hushed voice with the hint of shaking, and her grip on him loosened when the shaking of her hands increased. Acting on instinct, he instantly let go of the shards and moved his arms around her, not caring in the slightest about the blood he'd leave on her clothes. With one quick move, he pulled her into his lap. A soft, surprised gasp filled the air, but he didn't stop. She needed him right now. That was all he knew. That was all he cared about, and therefore he gripped firmer around her, pulling her as close as manageable. Her legs rested on both sides of him and he nestled his head into the crook of her neck, giving her the possibility to speak while he fully listened to her.

There was silence around them, and for a moment he feared that he'd misinterpreted and only further scared her, but then he felt her relaxing against his body. Her arms found their way back around his neck and one held tightly onto him while the other buried its fingers back in his hair. He sighed against the soft skin in that spot on her neck, and while one of his arms remained wrapped around her waist, holding her securely in position, he moved his other hand up to the back of her neck and with his thumb began to gently stroke the area right above the neckline of her shirt.

It felt weird to have changed so quickly from the giving to the receiving end of caress, and it was a welcoming distraction for her mind before she further recalled her memories. She'd sworn to herself to never talk about it, to not even think about what had happened that night. But she had to, now. She needed _him_ to understand. And if this meant she had to face her greatest, darkest moment again, then she would do so. For him! "It's been shortly after eight o'clock," she continued and gripped him firmer as she felt her hands starting to shake again. He hugged her tighter in response, and the gentle strokes he gave her on her neck made her relax so much that she continued with a steady voice, "I know this exactly because I just got a message from the babysitter, asking when I was coming home." She halted again and took a deep breath. Then, she lowered her head onto his shoulder. Halfway snuggled into him, she confessed with a low voice, "I had told her I'd be home by eight. She needed to leave, and I texted her to wait for Maze because I was still at work, but that was a lie. Truth is, I couldn't go straight home since you left… I needed some time for myself and it became a routine to go to yours." Her voice trembled at the end, caused by her revelation, and she began tensing up again.

She heard him inhale and then felt his hot breath against her throat while he moved his hand down, holding her close as he rested his chin on her shoulder, and then he started caressing her all over her back. It felt as if he wanted to silently tell her that it was OK. Still, she felt as if she'd done something wrong. As if she'd invaded his privacy, and her guilt reminded her that she would have been fine now, if she'd just gone home that night. She pressed her eyes shut and swallowed, forcing that voice out of her head, and then concentrated strictly on what happened next. "It was dark inside your penthouse when I reached it, but I could easily find my way around without having to switch on the light. Don't know if that was because I know every inch of your place by now or because of the lights from outside. I liked the darkness, back then. It was… calming," she then disclosed so nonchalantly it surprised herself. "I just came from another crime scene, a robbery gone wrong, and there still was this killer loose who'd attacked two women already and I didn't care to switch on the light and have a look around," the guilt suddenly spoke out of her. She shook her head over herself. "What was I thinking?!" she scolded herself. "If I had switched on the lights, I might have seen him. How could I be so careless?!"

"Shush," Lucifer interrupted her self-blame, caressing her and hugging her closer. "You felt safe here. You have every right to feel safe within these walls," he assured her soothingly. It was hard for him to listen, to hear her suffering, but he knew she needed it, and he needed it as well, if he was honest. He needed to know what really had happened to her.

"I think it was more because all I wanted to do was to sleep," she chuckled sadly, and tears welled up in her eyes when she mentioned, "I couldn't even do that." She halted again and took a deep breath. His arms around her felt really good: calming, comforting, safe. And for a moment, she considered to just keep on sitting there, hugging him, but then she reminded herself that this wasn't the reason she forced herself down memory lane, and with another deep breath she went on, "I was so exhausted, I fell asleep almost instantly. It wasn't a deep sleep, though, more like a dozing, and it wasn't for long. Ten minutes, maybe twenty, at most," she made clear. "Then he was suddenly there," she remembered and stopped, gripping tightly whatever her fingers just held onto when the memory washed over her. She squinted her eyes and panted heavily while it all played out in front of her inner eye: the fight, the struggle, her fear, her pain. "It all happened so fast," she uttered and her body began to tremble. When the next memory came, it hit her that hard, she abruptly jerked back, and only didn't fall because he was still holding onto her.

Lucifer hugged her again as tightly as he could, starting to gently rock them back and forth. He didn't know what else to do to ease her pain. He didn't want to hear it any more; not when that meant she had to go through it again so vividly. That wasn't worth it. "It's OK. You don't have to tell me," he hastily assured her.

"No!" Chloe disagreed decidedly and shook her head. She straightened herself and when she leaned back a little, their eyes met. It was easy to get lost in the warm brown colour of his irises. She could have stared into those gentle eyes for forever, or lean forward and let herself get soothed by a tender kiss. She was sure, he wouldn't have minded right now. But it was too important what she had to tell him. She shook her head once more, wiped away the tears that had fallen down her cheeks and repeated, "No! Lucifer. I have to tell you. Because I know what happened. And I know that you're wrong!" She saw him about to raise his voice to disagree, and she quickly spoke on, "After he was done, I felt a slight bounce of the bed. He'd stood up, and I thought he would leave now, but he didn't. He walked around the room. I heard him rummaging in something, then he came back to me… and then I heard-"

As if on clue, a sudden sound echoed through the room, coming from the little clock that stood on the shelf at the far back, between his books, when it struck the full hour, startling them and getting both their attention, and Chloe vigorously nodded her head when she turned her focus back to Lucifer, confirming him, "That's what I heard."

Lucifer shook his head to contradict her. "You must be mistaken," he countered and shook his head once more.

"I know what I heard, Lucifer," Chloe retorted. "The clock struck nine! It happened before you read your book!"

"No!" he contradicted again. "You must be wrong. You surely slept longer and it was ten."

"No!" she objected, anger starting to built up inside of her that he didn't believe her. "He said it himself!"

"Who?" Lucifer asked before his brain offered him the answer itself.

"Who do you think I mean?" Chloe hissed, pissed, barely holding it back. It nearly outraged her, not only that he was desperately looking for a reason to blame himself for everything, but also that their tender moment once again seemed to have been ruined by a frigging fight. She pushed her upper body away from his embrace so that she could look at him more clearly and stated fiercely, "Galant's twin halted as well when the clock struck its hour and I heard him mumble, 'Already nine. I have to hurry!'"

"Hurry? Why?" he interjected, angry at himself that he, once again, hadn't kept his damn mouth shut and let her talk, tightly snuggled into the crook of his neck, but that instead his tongue always got the better of him.

"I don't know!" she answered, clueless. How was she supposed to? "But I know what I heard," she went on. "His words were "already nine!" So tell me, Lucifer, how can it be your fault, when it all happened before you even read your book?" she asked and stared at him demandingly.

"I don't know!" he re-used her words, shrugging. "This doesn't make any sense," he murmured with a slight shake of his head, and involuntarily Chloe had to chuckle.

' _Right!'_ it shot through her head. ' _He is dead serious about having a book that can harm people just by reading it, but my facts don't make any sense!_ ' She shook her head as well at this dead-end situation. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks; tears that didn't arise from the memories of her mind, but from the ache in her heart. And once again, she cursed at herself for having wanted to tell him. She wished she could just go back to the moment when they held each other and tell herself to simply let it be; to let him believe whatever he wants as long as he would hold her. This thought hurt even more, and the urge to be away from him to cry her eyes out grew.

She pushed herself away some more, wanted to get up, but his grip around her waist didn't ease. "Let me go!" she demanded, struggling to free herself. Completely ignoring his hushed "No", she ordered again, "I'm leaving. Let go!"

His conscience screamed at him that he should let her go to bring her out of harm's way. That she still wasn't safe with him. That he was risking it all. And he knew he should have listened, but… to hell with reason! It felt too good to have her in his arms. It felt natural! It felt right! "I won't let go," Lucifer replied softly but determined, and tightened the grip again.

Chloe halted abruptly in her struggles and stared at him, surprised and curious at once. "You told me yourself, you want me to leave," she reminded him in a whisper and saw his head shaking firmly.

Once again, the little voice inside his head spoke out, telling him, that he'd left her for a reason. That he had to finish his business with his parents first, and that he should let her go, and the internal fight forced little watery drops into the corners of his eyes. He quickly blinked them away and swallowed them down, and thereby, pushed the thoughts out of his head. "I changed my mind," he confessed quietly and added, begging, "Don't leave." He moved one of his arms up her back again, pulling her close again, and as he buried his head back in the crook of her neck, he whispered softly, "Detective."

Her heart screamed at her, ' _That's all you wanted. Just give in and hug him back,_ ' but the stubbornness inside of her made her push him away from her again, and when she could fix her eyes back on his, she asked sceptically, "So you believe me now?"

He shook his head. "No," he gently denied. "It must be something else," he added and wanted to crawl back to her soft skin to surrender to his exhaustion, but she wouldn't let him. She stared darkly at him, silently demanding an explanation and he replied calmly, "I bought that book way earlier. Maybe it already knew when I would read the spell."

"It already knew?" Chloe repeated snidely, and silently declared him nuts. "Lucifer, Galant and his twin, they are predators. They watched their victims long before they decide to attack them. So they knew when they were alone, when they were most vulnerable and they could do to them whatever they wanted without getting disturbed."

"It can't be a coincidence that they chose you," he only answered.

"You've seen the pictures on the wall, didn't you?" she countered, trying to speak to his reason… if there was any left of it.

The reminder painted his heart black. Of course he'd seen them! Pictures of her: at a crime scene when she directly stood above a body that was covered with a blanket, when she'd taken her daughter to school, in front of the precinct, at home, even in front of LUX. And while his mind presented him with all this visual evidence, her soft voice reached his ear.

"They stalked their victims for more than two weeks. They already knew who to kill next before they had even finished their current victim."

As if to make only his words a truth, he declared once again, "Like I told you, I had that book long before."

"Did you have it before the 21st of March?" she hissed sharply, challenging him, and when he didn't answer right away, she went on, "Because that's the day we found the second victim! It was a Tuesday and she was a college student who wanted to become a doctor. She was right in the middle of her final exams and had already booked a flight ticket for when this was all over." To make sure he wouldn't come up with his sentence again, she added another, "Or did you have the book before the eighth of March? Because that's when the first victim was found. By her parents! Who had just come back from their silver wedding anniversary holiday. She'd stayed over at their house, because she didn't want to see her groom-to-be, whom she was supposed to marry a week later. I was the one who had to tell him, and I was with him, trying to comfort him while he broke down. That was almost four weeks before he attacked me!"

Lucifer was baffled. He tried to remember when he'd entered that shop, but truth be told he could barely recall anything from that time. He'd drunk himself as close to unconsciousness as possible, going from bar to bar, and only accidentally stumbled upon that little shop. But he was sober when he'd translated the book and, knowing that it nearly took him two weeks to do so, that would still be after the second murder. And thus, they already had her chosen as their next… He hastily shook his head and squinted his eyes, not wanting to believe it. "There must be a-"

"No!" she interrupted him, firmly shaking her head once, and when he looked at her, she declared decidedly, "It wasn't your fault!"

"But what if-" he started and again, was stopped by her almost angry sounding "No!"

"It can't-"

"No!" she cut him off again, and before he had the chance to speak up once more, she cupped his cheeks, forced him to look at her, and repeated strongly, "No!" She saw the struggle in his eyes, the inner war between her truth and his belief and when it finally settled down and a flame of sorrow began to lit his eyes, she embraced him tightly and whispered close to his ear, "It wasn't your fault!"

She felt him relax and hugging her back, and she tightened the grip around him, wanting to erase as much space between them as possible. It felt so good to have him back around her. To feel him. "I missed you so much," it accidentally left her lips and she buried her head in the crook of his neck, half out of shame and half out of the sheer need to take him in with all her senses.

"I missed you, too," he confessed as well, his eyes firmly closed as he relished the softness of her body and the warmth that radiated from her. "You have no idea how much I've missed you," he added and let out a long, relieving sigh.

He slightly moved his head and took a deep, calming breath, commenting as he exhaled, "You smell so good!"

"You, too!" she answered out of reflex and the meaning of it dawned on her while she spoke. She was astounded and surprised that, while they were so tightly hugged together, there had been no flashbacks, no haunting memories flooding her mind, nothing that she didn't call in intentionally, and she was taken aback. She turned her head to the side, burying her nose in his hair, and took a deep breath just to confirm herself. Nothing came up. "Actually," she began and lowered her head to take further sniffs. He smelled really good, but nothing like himself any longer. "What is that smell?"

"A new aftershave," he answered right out, unable to hide his slight insecurity about whether she'd approve. He would change it though, if she didn't like that scent. There had been plenty of bottles in the perfumery.

Chloe straightened herself and stared at him sceptically, not wanting to believe what her heart was telling her. "Since when do you have a new aftershave?" she asked, desperately needing proof to not fuel that hope unnecessarily.

"I needed to change it," he simply replied.

"Your aftershave? The one you're wearing since I've first met you. The one you paid an exorbitant fee for to get shipped over from Europe because they wouldn't sell it here any longer?" Not giving him time to answer, she added, "And what about your liquor? The bottles that cost more than my yearly income. Where are they?… And when-", she halted herself, swallowed, and then asked, "When was your last cigarette?"

He only stared at her, silently waiting until she was done listing the things, and then he shrugged his shoulders and calmly confessed, "I threw them out. Anything that reminded you of that night. I didn't want-" he stopped, feeling the lump forming in his throat as he ended, "-you to have to relive it over and over again."

"And that's why you changed everything?" She didn't want to believe it; that her heart was right.

"I'd do anything for you," he answered, and quickly added to soften the meaning of his words, "So you can feel safe again."

Chloe swallowed hard. She didn't know what to say or do. A warmth she hadn't felt in a long time spread out within her and she hastily wrapped her arms back around him, burying her head into his neck again as tears welled up in her eyes. She pressed them shut, not wanting to release them, the evidence of what she felt: lightness, relief and hurt, all at once.

"I actually thought you'd be happy about it," Lucifer quipped with a tad disappointment sounding through.

Chloe chuckled, sending her tears right across her cheeks, and she quickly sniffled to keep the rest inside, drying herself with the back of one hand while the other gripped Lucifer's neck even tighter. "I am," she assured him with a sob. Another sob escaped her, and she repeated quickly, "I am happy," hoping to make her emotions stop betraying her, but they didn't listen. Further sobs followed and she hastily pressed the palms of both her hands over her eyes to keep the tears inside at least.

"Shush," Lucifer soothed her and took her in a tight embrace, his hand reaching further up until he'd encompassed the back of her head. He pulled her closer, their faces a mere inch apart from each other, and he hushed, "I didn't mean to make you cry."

They were so close she could feel his lips move, the warm breath blowing directly against her senses, and she wondered why he hadn't closed that tiny gap already and had kissed her. She wanted him to! She wished he'd do it! But she couldn't just go forward and initiate it herself. His words from before were still vividly in her mind. They still hurt, even though she knew he only said them because of his belief, but yet she couldn't erase them. She moved her hands to his face, caressing his cheeks, feeling the stubbles of his beard, and hoped he would decide for himself that a simple touch wasn't enough any more.

He wanted to kiss her; right there and now. Oh, how badly he wanted to press his lips down onto hers, let them both soothe their sorrow by the other so they could heal together. But it wasn't in his hands. It wasn't his right to sit here and play 'I want you, I want you not' with her, and so he let her make the decision. She would close the gap if she felt the time's right, he told himself. No matter how hard it was, he was satisfied with her embrace, and he didn't want to let anything get in between them, neither air nor that frigging buzzing phone that had just started off, slowly vexing him.

"Is that your phone?" Chloe asked, silently relieved that she had a reasonable explanation to shift a little away from him. One moment longer so tightly embraced with him and she knew, she wouldn't have been able to keep herself from doing something that he apparently didn't want.

Lucifer rolled his eyes, already miffed that their moment was gone, disrupted by technology and the wish to do exactly the same with whoever had dared to disturb them. "Ignore it," he told her when he recognised she tried to reach for it. Hoping to bring back the mood, he moved both his arms back around her and hugged her again.

"No! What if it's important?" Chloe disagreed and struggled herself free again.

"No one would call me except for Candy, and I don't want to deal with her right now!"

' _Yep, that was it. Mood's dead,_ ' it shot through her head and fortunately, the cop in her took over, "Then give me the phone, she might be in danger again."

' _The only danger to her is me when she comes home,_ ' he thought and groaned in frustration, once again trying to distract her by running his hands up and down her back. It was futile, she shifted around in his lap until she could reach his trousers' pocket. "Leave it!" he tried his last attempt but she'd already managed to get it free.

"Nope!" she denied and stared at the caller ID, startled for a moment. "It's Dan's number," she commented and quickly pressed the accept-button. "Hey, it's me." Silencing Lucifer's protest of how the douche had his number, with her finger pressed on his lips, she attentively listened to the voice close to her ear. "Yeah, sorry. I forgot that I had put it in my jacket which I'd left in the car." She had to hold the little device away from herself to not become deaf by his outcry and followed reprimand, reflexively squinting her eyes. It went quiet and she held it closer again and apologized to him with a testily undertone, "I know. I'm sorry." Even if he was right, it bugged her that he treated her like a child. She was a grown-up, for crying out loud! "Relax!… Yes, of course I'm with Lucifer!" she replied with an eye-roll. Did he already forget whose phone he'd called? Before the anger in her could take over, she decided to end the call. "Yeah. Sorry again. I have to go. Bye." Before she removed the phone from her ear, however, spoken words held her back. "What?" she uttered baffled, her mood instantly changing to that of worry. "Are they out of their minds?" She didn't need an answer to that rhetorical question, but listened to Dan's reply nonetheless. "OK, where does she live? … No! We're coming… Because I want to make sure she's alright!… OK, fine. Yes, thanks!… Yeah, bye." She switched off the phone with a mouthed ' _fuck_ ' and when she looked up, she would have been frightened by the two completely black eyes that stared at her, if she hadn't already seen first-hand how frightening he could really look.

"What did he mean by ' _I thought that maniac had you already?_ '" he asked with a dead-serious tone.

Chloe swallowed nervously. "Well," she elongated the word, buying herself some time to put her thoughts in order, and then disclosed to him, "They found out that the twin had watched me all the time, and that we didn't get stuck in that elevator by chance. He is after me."

Lucifer's expression rapidly changed between anger, worry, and rage and he burst out, outraged,"Why didn't you tell me right away?"

' _For obvious reasons, mainly your behaviour_ ', it shot through her head but she knew to better keep that locked away. "It just wasn't the right time to address this," she replied instead and instantly cringed at him.

To both their surprises, he neither exploded nor bolted to the door to start the manhunt himself, but it was very vividly written in his face that that was what he wanted to do right now. He still remained a calm posture, only briefly closed his eyes to call himself back to order, and Chloe didn't feel anything of the rage that seethed underneath his skin, apart from the grip around her that had noticeably tightened. "You're not leaving here!" he then made clear with an almost soothing voice.

"Yes, I do!" Chloe objected. "With you, if you don't mind. They'd just released his latest victim from the hospital. I can't leave her alone, knowing he's still out there," she added to explain it to him.

He wasn't having any of it. "You can, and you will!" he made clear. "Dan can keep her company. I tell Maze to sharpen her knives. Sorry, Detective, but playtime is over! You're in immediate danger and I will not risk your life! Maze can take care of him. Until then, you won't leave my side… or these walls," he added while making a circling movement with his finger.

"She needs my support," Chloe objected as if that would justify everything.

"That's exactly what he's hoping for! You said it yourself. He's a predator, and he's after you. And predators build traps to catch their prey if they can't hunt them down! I told you I'll keep you save, and I intend to do exactly that!" And he meant it, with all his heart and soul. There was no contradicting voice inside his head any longer, no thought spent at the book or the upcoming war or even the danger his mother could bring to him. Right now, every cell in his body was working for one task, each niche in his head was filled with only three words: Keep! Chloe! Safe!

She was about to disagree again, when his words had pushed the right wheels in her head and she mused on them before asking for confirmation, "You really think he'll use her to trap me?"

"Yes!" he affirmed and nodded determinedly. "I don't know how, but I'm dead certain that sooner or later he's on his way to that woman!"

Chloe's eyes widened when his reply provided her with further ideas and quickly formed a plan in her head. "Then better hope it's the latter," she commented and nodded at him decidedly.

/-/

Three had always been his favourite number.

He should have known the moment he saw her, that she was special. Her fierceness. Her strength. She was meant for him. He still remembered their first time as if it was yesterday.

He thought he'd finished her off, but she stirred the moment he took her hand to clean her nails. It startled him that she was still alive, but then the arousal came back almost instantly. He knew she wanted a second round. He'd seen it in her eyes. She wanted more. She was begging for him. He couldn't leave her like that. Unfinished. So, he placed himself above her again. At first, he laid his hands back around her throat, but she cheated him once. A pillow would be better, he decided, and he grabbed the nearest, and pressed it above her face while he had it off with her. And again, because three was his favourite number.

It had been risky though. Normally, this bloke would have come up there and take a look at her. But luckily, not that day. No! The gods were in his favour. They gave him enough time to relish his masterpiece.

He thought he'd succeeded after he was done. She looked dead; didn't stir a single muscle when he carved his painting into her canvas.

But then, later, he found out she was alive!

She played him. That little minx. He knew then, there would be another time for them. Another time for him to remember and tell his son, like his father had done with him.

He was one of a kind. Special. Just like him. And his father before him. He'd told him so, when they'd finally met for the first time, shortly after his 17th birthday. His mother hadn't approved of it. She still was mad at his father that he'd chosen her, and forbade him to call him dad. But that's what he was. His dad. His father. His mentor.

His mother still didn't approve. She threatened him, ordered him and even begged him, but he couldn't deny his descent. Neither could she! When he refused to listen to her, she'd told him to go. He didn't want to either. Instead, he decided she had to go, and then, she was gone.

His mother wasn't his first.

No!

But she was special. Just like her. His number three. She was blonde, just like his mum. That's why he picked her. That's why he picked all his numbers. Except for number five. She was a necessity. A requirement to get his favourite number out of her den.

She hid way too long for his liking. Weeks ago, he knew she was ready for him. She was strong. Fierce. She put up a real fight. Not like the others who only cried and begged for their lives. She'd challenged him and he knew she would challenge him again.

Only he didn't expect it to be so soon. All the time these midgets hid her away. Nowhere could he be alone with her. He'd even been back to her house, fully aware that bloke might be there, too. The one who'd almost messed everything up. Back then. He'd wanted to have his next number long before, but over again this moor kept showing up. He was everywhere she was. And when he was finally alone with her, he almost wanted to laugh in her face ' _Hey, girl, did you know you got yourself a stalker?_ ' He didn't want to ruin this perfect moment, though. Like a fly dragged to the sun, this bloke was drawn to her. But not that day! His heyday! And after that day, he couldn't blame him. Because he knew by then, how special she was. He'd tried the fruit, and he'd wanted more.

So he laid out his plan. His backup. The one his brother originally chose, but he couldn't use her any more. He couldn't use anything anymore, anyway. He'd liked him, his brother. To find someone who is just like you is rare these days. You have to hold onto them. But his brother was weak. His brother was too eager and, at the same time, too anxious. He didn't have the real practice. He'd only had kittens and puppies and sometimes a deer. But he himself, oh, he had real practice. On real girls. None of them was of interest to him, though. None was blonde. None of them deserved their sign. But he couldn't be picky. Back then. That's what his father had told him as well. When he'd shown him his hunting grounds. Back at home. No one cared about them. They didn't have the right colour. No matter how they were dressed, rags or suit. It was a culture shock when he came over here. Sure, he finally found the ones who were worthy of his carving, but also everyone watched. His doings were everywhere. And they were his doings only! He'd helped his brother with his first, so that was basically on his count. And his brother's second, he wasn't there, but he got caught, so she didn't count. He was the only one who did it right! They showed it everywhere! His works were on everyone's lips. Everyone talked about him! He almost couldn't handle the fame. And he also couldn't understand why they didn't appreciate what he was doing.

He wasn't a monster!

He was an artist!

And now that he finally had her… She was the perfect fit to serve his needs; to create the next generation with. Back home. How he'd missed it. There he could do whatever he wanted. No one would take interest in a woman's screams. You just had to know the right places. He already knew in which shed to keep her until she'd bear his children. It was much easier to do what he did in South Africa, anyway. There were always people who didn't belong to anyone, who weren't missed… He'd already prepared everything for the passage. All he now needed was her. And he needed her alone… But she almost never was. At the hospital, at work, at that stupid doctor's place. Everywhere she was, it was crowded. And he hated crowds. He hated audience. They don't acknowledge his work. They are only noisy and annoying. Once, he almost had the right moment. That time this black bloke didn't show up at hers. But then this other man was suddenly there, acted as if he'd belong. He could have managed with that little brat of hers. Children's necks snapped easily. But not with him! No! When he saw this man, he was furious. She really didn't make it easy for him. Just like he'd expected it from her. And he accepted the challenge.

How could he know that all he needed to do was to wait for her? It wasn't what he'd planned, though. He knew with setting out the bait, they would meet again, he just hadn't expected it so soon. She was standing there, almost in front of him, so suddenly, and he had to improvise. They nearly caught him. But he was faster. Better. And when he listened to her cries… it was music in his ears. He knew she wanted him, dreamed about him. Soon, Three, soon, you'll be mine again.

The plan had been perfect. They only had to be in that elevator for another day, or two, and they would have been too exhausted to put up a decent fight. He would have won, easily. But then this fucking police had shown up; had ruined everything, and he had to hide again. He couldn't wander the streets. It would've been too risky. People could have recognised him and he couldn't jeopardise that now that he had her so close.

So, back to plan B. At least, Five was released today. Once again he would use her as bait. She was of no other use anyway. So disgustingly weak. He had to use his full self-control to not kill her that day, to not break her too much. It was a strife! She was anything but worthy of his number, but he had to sign her! So she would know, his beloved Three…

Soon, you'll be mine.

It still was broad daylight, but no one cared about a decent looking guy walking down the streets. The two policemen sitting in their car in front of her house were a joke. They didn't observe nothing. And the building hadn't changed, either. That small window in the basement was still unlocked. No one heard him when he entered. No one saw him. And with the thick carpet around the entire house, he didn't even have to walk carefully. He already heard the TV from down here. Just like the first time. So he simply walked up the storey.

And there she was, sitting on the couch, with her back to him, her attention fully drawn to the black square box, and her neatly combed hair shimmered extra brightly today. A little appetizer before his real meal wasn't so bad after all!

The music welled up inside of him again, and he sang out loud as he walked up to her, "You are my dream come true!"

There was no fright. No scream. She just calmly stood up and turned around.

"No! I'm your biggest nightmare!" Chloe spat back as she took off the wig, her eyes were dark with hatred while her expression was dead-panned.

* * *

 **A/N** : That's the end of the chapter. I hope you liked it. What are your current thoughts? Please let me know and leave a little comment.

Have a nice day!

:o)


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